West Ark High (for lack of a creative title)
by PinkFan-Gurl
Summary: When Clarke finds out her school is going to be torn down, she realizes that she must team up with the two people she despises the most in order to keep her friends together: Wells Jaha, the boy who got her dad fired, and Bellamy Blake, the king of assholes. Bellarke. you've been warned.
1. I Don't Like You, Remember?

Clarke's mom had been remarried for close to four years now, but it was still the first time that her dad didn't drop her off at the front of the school on her first day back. That alone was enough to ruin Clarke's day, but it was her dread of seeing the one responsible that was already beginning to make her blood boil.

"Clarke." Jasper waving his hand outside her window drew her out of her head. His voice was muffled by the glass between them. "Are you going to get out of the car or are you going to sit in there all day?"

Sit in here all day, she thought. Anything to keep her from facing Wells. She was afraid that she might punch him too hard if they crossed paths, and it wasn't out of pity for him either— she didn't want to be held accountable if she did any damage to his head from the impact.

Still, Clarke knew that holing herself away from the world wasn't going to get her into med-school, so she opened the door against her better judgement. "Jasper?" Her stepbrother was sitting crisscrossed on the parking-lot pavement, leaning with his back to the car and his messenger bag in his lap. "Why are you on the ground?"

He scrambled to his feet, taking care to wipe gravel from the back of his jeans. "I wasn't sure when, or if, you were going to come out."

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know." Clarke pressed a button on her keychain and the vehicle locked behind her.

Jasper shrugged. "Maybe not, but it didn't feel right to leave you behind."

Clarke tried for a smile, even though it was clear to both of them that it was slightly forced. Jasper knew just as well that the first day of school had always been a sacred ritual for Clarke and her father, and now she was going into her last year without it. Jasper didn't comment on it, though.

She had walked through the front building of West Ark High over a million times in the last three years, but this time it was different. But if she had to have anyone else by her side, Clarke was grateful that it was Jasper.

They had barely gotten through the front doors before Jasper was rammed in the side from out of nowhere. There was a blur of black hair and a grey hoody, and then Clarke saw Monty and Jasper bro-ing it out in the middle of the hallway.

"Now that," she admitted, "is hard not to smile at."

Monty grinned, shoving Jasper out of the way ("Hey!") and made a move to hug Clarke, who received him with open arms. "You doing okay?"

Clarke inhaled sharply, then sighed into Monty's shoulder. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

"This entire situation is just shitty," Jasper muttered off to the side.

"Nothing that I can't handle," Clarke assured them, trying for another weak smile. Just from the tight smiles that Jasper and Monty returned to her, Clarke could tell that they weren't buying it for a minute.

"Do you want us to walk you to class?" Jasper gripped her shoulder.

"No, it's really fine guys. It's really not that big a deal—I'm just being a little hyper-sensitive about this I guess."

Monty and Jasper traded concerned frowns. "Okay," Monty said slowly. "We'll meet up with you later, alright?"

Clarke nodded stoically, accepted Jasper's side-hug, then watched the two boys as they disappeared down the the east hallway. They both turned around to check on Clarke only to whip back around when they realized she hadn't moved and was still watching them.

A rush of warm air washed over Clarke's back as a new wave of students wandered into the building, and for a minute, she considered doubling back to her car and camping out near the bay all day. Anything to keep her from facing Wells. But then she decided she owed it to _herself_ to get to class on time.

After all, she didn't spend the last three years keeping a perfect record for nothing.

…

"Octavia, will you stop and sit down?" Bellamy grabbed a hold on the back of his sister's shirt with one hand to pull her down while simultaneously keeping his eyes on the road and his left hand on the steering wheel. "What if I have to hit the breaks and you go flying through the windshield?"

"I'm just grabbing my hairbrush, God." Her voice came from a low point in the backseat, her rear end in the air and knees on the passenger seat as she fumbled around in the back. "Oh my God, this hurts my neck."

Bellamy refrained from rolling his eyes. "No shit. Now grab your damn hairbrush and sit your ass back down in the seat."

"If mom heard you say that sentence," Octavia quipped, sliding back into her seat, hairbrush in hand, "she would wash your mouth out with soap. She wouldn't care that you're eighteen."

Bellamy scoffed, but didn't say anything. He wasn't really in the mood to talk anyway, seeing as how this time yesterday he was still sleeping and would have remained that way until two in the afternoon. In retrospect, it was kind of a lousy way to spend the rest of his summer but at least he didn't regret it.

As he pulled into the school parking lot, he caught sight of a familiar wisp of dark curls and Bellamy's neutral expression cemented into a frown. "Woah," Octavia commented dryly, "I take it that you don't plan on patching things up with Roma any time soon, then, huh?"

Bellamy shot his sister a look, hinting to her that the subject was touchy and not to be mentioned. Roma had been Bellamy's on-again/off-again girlfriend throughout the previous school year, but they had called it quits for good halfway through the summer.

And it wasn't that he even hated her or anything, he just didn't like the reminder that things didn't work out. It seemed like a wasted amount of his time to have put energy into a relationship that was mostly one sided-his side, specifically.

Bellamy glanced over at Octavia. "You excited for soccer to start up?"

"Yep," she replied. She pulled her bag into her lap as Bellamy parked the car. "What about you, big brother? Ready to whoop student council into shape this year as president?" She smiled widely.

"You bet," was his answer, but he wasn't planning on being president.

Wells Jaha, the son of the superintendent, had been stu-co president since freshman year, beating out even the seniors for three years in a row. As much as Bellamy despised him for it, Wells was a shoe-in for president, especially with his golden haired princess by his side all of the time.

If there was anything that Bellamy was dreading in the upcoming school year was the amount of PDA that Clarke and Wells would be forcing the rest of the student body to watch. Sure, they had finally gotten together after being friends since the eighth grade, but they could really lay off in Bellamy's opinion.

Besides, they're both so _arrogant_. Especially Clarke.

"Bellamy?"

"What?" He replied automatically, barely shifting his eyes to his sister.

"You're entire face just, like, tensed. What's up?"

And now you've worked yourself up over something stupid, he scolded himself. Only it wasn't stupid. He needed more recognition around this shit school which was hard enough without the princess and mini-superintendent ruining things for him. "I'm fine," he grumbled, climbing out of the car and slamming the door behind him.

Octavia shook her head, walking at a slower pace behind him. "You forgot to lock the car again, you dipshit." Bellamy held his keys up over his head, and then the car beeped behind them. "At least you didn't throw them over your shoulder this time!"

Bellamy ignored her comment as he entered the main doors, pulling his hood up as he did so. Finding Miller or Murphy was the first task at hand in Bellamy's mind, but he was quickly pulled away from his mission when a hand clamped around his upper arm. He turned around hoping it was Miller, but was faced with the last person he expected. "What do you want, Wells?"

Wells must have picked up on Bellamy's animosity because his mouth thinned out into a frown. "Have you seen Clarke around at all?"

Bellamy almost scoffed. "Uh, no. Why would I know where the princess is?" His eyes narrowed slightly. "Besides, aren't you guys, like, always together?"

Pain seemed to slap Wells across the face, but Bellamy tried to ignore it. "If you see her, can you tell her that I was looking for her? Please?"

Bellamy was tempted to say no—and why not? Wells had never gone out of his way to help Bellamy out when he was in a jam. And yet, Bellamy still found himself nodding, "Yeah. Sure, whatever." The slight smile that Wells had at first returned. "But get out of my face before I change my mind."

Wells held his gaze, the smile returning to it's frown. Bellamy suspected the boy was holding back choice language in fear of being offensive and missing out on his help. Satisfied, Bellamy spun on his heel. "See ya, Jaha."

…

Clarke was relieved when she had successfully managed to dodge a bullet in three of her classes— that bullet being her ex-boyfriend Wells.

He had tried approaching her in third hour, even sat in the desk beside her, but she gave him the silent treatment without making eye contact until right after the bell rang and she quickly moved her stuff to an empty desk at the front of the room before Wells could even process what had happened.

He didn't try sitting by her at all in fourth hour, but she had ignored him when he attempted at small talk. By fifth hour, he didn't try engaging with her at all, which she gave herself a pat on the back for. She had hoped he had finally taken the hint and that, no, she did not want to get back together.

Or associate with him ever again for that matter.

But the determined bastard didn't give up so easily and was waiting directly in front of the door to their last class of the day, AP European History.

Clarke hung back, weighing her options. She could skip all together (even though deep down, she knew she wouldn't), keep her head low so he wouldn't recognize her (wishful thinking), or run right past him (if he stepped in front of her, it'd be like running into a wall of bricks.) At any rate, it wasn't going to end well.

"Clarke."

The distraction was such a relief, she didn't even care who was calling her name. Until she found herself beside Bellamy Blake. Then she had to rethink her priorities—Wells or Bellamy? Yeah, okay Bellamy was probably worse than Wells is she were being honest.

But blind hate tipped her balance, and talking to Bellamy for a quick minute seemed harmless. "What do you want, Bellamy?"

Bellamy's eyebrows shot up. "That's new."

"What?"

"Usually you're so...school girl excited on the first day of school." He cracked a cocky grin. "You know, before you stress out by the second week and become the bitchy princess we all know you as."

"You're such a dick, Bellamy." Her eyes clouded over with disgust.

"I've been called worse." Bellamy seemed to notice Wells standing near the door for the first time. "Oh, yeah. You're boyfriend was looking for you earlier."

Clarke tensed at the term _boyfriend_ , earning a confused squint from Bellamy. "You don't say," she managed between clenched teeth.

The two stood in an awkward silence for a few seconds. "Okay," Bellamy started, "are you going to go in the classroom with me or are you going to keep standing here like a crazy person?"

Clarke scoffed slightly. "You have AP European History? Why?"

Bellamy sighed, rolling his shoulder blades in an arc. "And there you go again, Princess." He stopped and his eyes refocused on hers. "Probably the same damn reason you did, Clarke. It's an elective. For enjoyment."

She withheld another snort. "I didn't know you liked history."

"Well we can't all enjoy harvesting organs, can we, Princess?" It's a low blow, but Clarke can tell that he doesn't care if he insulted her as he slides past Wells and into the classroom.

It wasn't fair that _Bellamy Blake_ could just walk right into the classroom like he owned the place while she was stuck hanging back for fear of confrontation. Maybe she should file for a restraining order or something. Even Wells wouldn't be able to fight a restraining order.

"Clarke?" Wells's eyes fixated on her from the door frame. She inwardly groaned; Bellamy probably told him she was there out of spite. "Can we please just talk about this?"

The warning bell rang. Great timing, she thinks to herself.

"There's nothing too talk about, Wells," she hissed, walking past him. "You got my dad fired and now he's gone! I barely got to see him when he was still living around here, but thanks to _you_ he lives on the other side of the damn country now!"

"We have an audience," he whispered.

For the first time, Clarke became aware that people who were still making their way to class were starting to stop and eavesdrop. She was also mildly aware of how much she didn't care. "So?"

"I just thought-"

"-—yeah? Well, you thought wrong!" Clarke held his gaze, eyebrows knit together sternly. Wells's face was nothing short of miserable, but for the second time in the last minute, she didn't care. "You thought wrong," she whispered again, turning towards the door. "Do me a favor? Stop thinking."

Clarke shoved past him and slammed her bag down on the front-most desk just as the final bell rang.

…

"How do you think Clarke held up today?" Jasper asked casually, hoping his worry wasn't evident.

Monty pursed his lips before relaxing again. "As long as she didn't have to talk to Wells, she probably got through the day A-okay." He caught a grape in his mouth. "She might want takeout for dinner though. Or something quick."

Jasper nodded thoughtfully. "Good call. I know my dad has shit to do tonight and Abby has some kind of seminar until around ten. Clarke won't wanna cook tonight either since we'll get home so late."

"What time does the game start?"

Jasper slung his bag over his shoulder. "Five-thirty, but I have to be back at around four-thirty for warm ups and stuff."

Monty nodded. "That's not too bad."

"Nah, not really." Jasper didn't, however, mention that he really only had to be back by five, but being an entire hour early meant he had a better chance at catching a conversation with Octavia Blake, the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen since the ninth grade. "So we should see if Clarke's hungry now, go out and get something so you two can eat at the game, and then come back?"

"Sounds solid enough to me." He regarded Jasper with a frown. "But seriously, we're not getting Taco Bell again."

Jasper sighed. He was looking forward to Taco Bell all day.


	2. Not Quite A Crushing Defeat

**Chapter Two: Not Quite A Crushing Defeat**

Even though Jasper knew he hadn't mentioned anything about his schedule, he was still unsurprised when he and Monty found Clarke waiting for them outside of their classroom after sixth period. She had an uncanny ability of finding things out if she put her mind to it.

It almost unnerved him that she had cared about his schedule enough to find out what his last period was. He hoped that she wasn't going to start meddling in his personal affairs now that she didn't have a boyfriend to occupy her time; that would put a strain on his efforts at wooing Octavia.

"Clarke." Jasper swung his bag as he and Monty met up with her on the side of the hall. "What's up?"

Her expression was tense, like she had witnessed the brutal murder of a baby bird or something. "Nothing."

"You sure?" Jasper frowned. "You look like you just saw a ghost." Clarke's eyes dimmed a shade darker and it clicked. "You saw Wells didn't you?"

She huffed in exasperation, an annoyed smile taking over her face. "Not only did I see him, but I couldn't _not_ see him! It's like he rigged our classes so that we'd be stuck together!"

"That many classes, huh?" Monty looked to Clarke and she nodded limply.

Seeing Clarke look so miserable was something that Jasper wasn't used to, and quite frankly, he hoped that he would never have too. In all of the years that they had known each other, Clarke had always been pretty level-headed in situations that would have made Jasper lose his cool.

The time he accidentally lost his snake in the house? Clarke was calm and collected, putting a plan together on how to find the reptile before their parents got home.

The time Jasper nearly crashed them into a lamp post when she was teaching him how to drive? She held his hand until his heart stopped racing and told him that they were fine. She told him that he was going to get the hang of it soon.

It was hard to picture a time when Clarke was fizzed out because it was just a part of her nature to be the person to put the pieces back together when things got messy. That's why Jasper felt his heart cringe every time he caught Clarke's broken gaze. The entire situation with Wells getting her dad fired and then moving across the country had taken a large toll on his stepsister, and Jasper hated it.

He hated seeing her so out of control of her own emotions, so helpless. He hated it even more that there wasn't anything he could do to help her. All she wanted was her dad back, and unfortunately, that was out of Jasper's power.

"We were thinking of hitting the Wendy's to chow down before the game," Monty was chatting away to Clarke, and Jasper had to ask himself if he had always missed the look of admiration in his best friend's eyes every time he spoke to Clarke.

Regardless of Monty's bubbly attitude, Clarke continued with her sullen expression. "Yeah. That sounds good."

The disinterest in her tone made Jasper feel a bit guilty. He knew she had almost zero interest in sports, and yet she made an effort to attend most of his games. "You don't have to come if you don't want to, Clarke. I know sports aren't really your thing."

Clarke whipped her head in Jasper's direction. "Of course I want to come." Her tone was a bit harsh, obviously offended, but for the first time since the last moving truck left for San Diego, Jasper saw a trace of fire in Clarke's eyes.

And if her being slightly mad at him was what helped return that fire, Jasper was willing to take one for the team.

The three weaved their way down to the main doors of the school. A rush of crisp, warm air greeted them as soon as they stepped outside, mixing with the noxious fumes of exhaust blossoming from the parking lot as students tried to get as far away from the school as humanly possible.

The parking lot was a mess, cars interlocked with one another. Judging by the sour look on Clarke's face, he could tell the fifteen minutes that they were going to spend trying to get off school grounds were going to be edgy.

Clarke hated traffic and ever since the move, her bottled up road-rage had started to become more apparent.

Jasper was about to suggest that it wasn't as bad as it seemed when someone cheekily called, "Jasper!" followed by a soft punch to the shoulder. He met Octavia's gaze head on before shying away.

"Ready to kick ass tonight?" She asked smiling.

"You bet." Out of his peripherals, he could see Clarke's eyebrows raised so high, he was just glad that they weren't caught up in her hair. Beside her, Monty muttered something quietly from the side of his mouth and Clarke's eyebrows inched up even higher if it was possible. "We're just about to head out to Wendy's to grab some food-stuffs before the game. You could, uh, meet us there if you wanted."

It wouldn't be a _date_ , Jasper assured himself. Especially not with Clarke there. It'd just be a couple of friends hanging out before a soccer game.

Octavia smiled apologetically and Jasper felt his lungs deflate before she even opened her mouth. "I'm sorry," she said, "I wish I could, but my brother already said he was taking me out tonight." She cocked her head to the side. "Maybe next time?"

"Yeah! I mean, uh, sounds good." He watched her as she crossed the road and met up with a tall, curly haired boy who Jasper had seen around school before. "What?" he asked when he finally returned his attention to his sister and best friend.

"What was that?" Clarke asked, and Jasper couldn't tell if she was angry, curious, or both.

"Octavia? She's on my soccer team," he answered coolly.

"When did you guys get so chummy?" He picked up on the accusatory tone directed at him.

"We're really not," he said and Monty rolled his eyes.

"You wish you were more chummy with her, though, right?" Monty must've spoken Clarke's thoughts because she nodded in agreement.

Immediately Jasper regretted not filling Monty in about his crush. If Monty had known, he would've backed him up. He felt kind of betrayed, honestly.

"Dang, guys, I'm hungry." He changed the subject. "Let's hurry up before everyone in town decides to beat us to the restaurant."

To Jasper's relief, no one objected.

…

Even though Bellamy loved to support Octavia, there was nothing about sports that appealed to him other than the prospect of getting a scholarship if you played well enough. Back in freshman year, he had tried out for cross-country, track, soccer, basketball, swimming, and even football in an attempt of finding something that he might've been good enough at in order to increase his chances at getting into college cheaper.

When it turned out he sucked at all of them, he decided to focus more on the academic spectrum of earning college recognition. And it wasn't even like enjoyment could have motivated him to continue sports; he sucked _and_ he hated it, so there was a non-existent balance.

No, he wasn't at Octavia's game because he liked soccer. He was there because she loved playing and it gave Bellamy a chance to unwind and do nothing after a long day of doing a lot of somethings.

"You're good here then?" he asked, dropping Octavia's soccer bag at their feet. They were at the base of the bleachers where a small crowd had already started forming.

Octavia stretched, casually touching the toe of her cleat to the back of her head. "Yeah. I'll meet up with you here after the game's over. That cool?"

"Yeah." Bellamy made a move to ruffle his sister's hair but thought better of it. "Kick ass, O."

She flashed him a cocky grin. "Do you really even need to tell me?" She jogged off, joining up with a kid with a mop of dark hair who looked vaguely familiar.

Now came the hard part: finding a decent seat in the bleachers. It might sound like an easy task, but nothing about it was simple. Most of the best spots up towards the top had already been taken, claimed by soccer parents who had been camping out with their blankets and coffee thermoses since school let out. Most of the student section was filling up fast too, but Bellamy knew from experience that things got a little too crazy up there and he wasn't in the mood for accidently falling off the side of the bleachers.

Other than soccer, Bellamy was usually ringed into going to football games, and on those days he would scan the crowd until he saw Miller spazzing out in adrenalized excitement. It was hard to miss most times because he'd have grey and red face paint splattered on his cheeks.

But this time he didn't have Miller saving a spot for him up in the crowd. Nope, Bellamy had to fend for himself. And the seats that were left all seemed pretty uncomfortable in his opinion.

"Oh, where do I go?" He stepped off to the side as a pair of younger kids darted up toward the top right section.

His eyes followed them up the stairs in hopes of finding a not-so-horrible place to sit when a sickeningly familiar face jumped out at him. What was Clarke doing here?

Bellamy might not know everything about the princess and her hobbies, but he was pretty sure that sports weren't one of them.

Then he remembered the boy on the field and the gears started turning. Now that he was forced to think about it, Bellamy did recall Octavia saying something about Jasper Jordan being on her team, and only a dumb sack of flour wouldn't know that Jasper was Clarke's brother.

(Everyone learned that one real quick when Murphy earned a sock in the mouth for harassing Jasper; the princess did pack a punch though.)

Clarke hadn't seen him, which was a relief. She was sitting with an Asian kid that Bellamy had seen hang around with her and Jasper from time to time.

Maybe he should sit with them. At least then he wouldn't be by himself watching a game he could care less about. Bellamy's hands momentarily tightened on the bleacher railing, and then turned to sit in the bottom front.

It wasn't the perfect view, but he didn't actually feel like dealing with the princess and her stuck up attitude.

…

Two hours and one sore back later, the game ended with a score of 4-1.

It wasn't a crushing defeat by any means, but it could have gone a lot better in Clarke's opinion if the seniors would have stopped being glory whores and passed the ball to some of the underclassmen. Namely Jasper.

For almost an hour, Clarke had watched Jasper jog up and down the field almost aimlessly because no one included him on the plays. She didn't see him even _touch_ the ball; not even to bring it back inbounds.

And for as friendly Jasper thought he was with her, Clarke noticed that Octavia Blake was one of the biggest problems. She was good, no argument there, but she wasn't as good as _she_ thought she was.

Octavia handled the ball for at least half the game, and not once did she attempt to include Jasper.

"So much for being chums," she commented when Octavia laughed at something Jasper must have said.

Monty stopped mid-stretch. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, she didn't even pass him the ball."

"It wasn't always open."

"She could have tried harder."

Monty stayed quiet after that, and eventually they filtered closer to the ground. Somewhere in the chaos, Monty had slipped out of her sight. Taking the initiative, Clarke backtracked up the stairs a bit to get a better look.

Almost immediately, she spotted Monty jogging to meet up with Jasper, Octavia, and a few others she didn't recognize.

It was who she _did_ recognize, however, leaning against the fence down by the field that surprised her. Of course Bellamy would be here. His sister is in the game.

Then why was she genuinely surprised to see him? Maybe it was because Bellamy renounced anything that had to do with professional athletics and never failed to express how strongly he stood behind that opinion.

 _Why do we pay baseball and football players billions of dollars a year? I don't see them doing anything heroic! Why does a quarterback like Tom Brady get to go out and party while we have veterans homeless in New York? Political, social justice? I think not!_

Not that he was wrong, Clarke just found it amusing.

Clarke doubled back down the stairs, thankful for the last few shreds of daylight. "Bellamy!" she yelled when she assumed that he was in earshot. Bellamy glanced in the direction her voice had come from, but when he recognized her face, he scowled and turned away.

"What do you want now, Princess?" He asked when she got closer. He sounded exasperated and didn't even bother to look at her again.

"I just wanted to say sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to offend you about the history thing."

Bellamy shifted uncomfortably, like he didn't know how to respond to her apology.

Instead of making awkward conversation about something stupid like the weather, Clarke moved on down the fence until she was standing at the gap that gave entrance to the field. "Monty! Jasper! I'm leaving in two minutes–with or without you!"

Monty had to grip Jasper by the upper arm and literally _drag_ him off the field. Clarke made a mental note to keep a dangerously close eye on him. The last thing she wanted was a Blake as a niece or nephew.

"Hey, Clarkey," Jasper grinned in excitement as they drew closer and Clarke decided that she would forgive him for using such a tacky nickname. "Pretty good game, wasn't it?"

"Oh my God you smell like sweat." She pushed him away when he tried to envelope her in slimy embrace and suddenly she wished she had snapped at him for the nickname.

"Saw you talking with Bellamy," Monty noted, eyebrows steepled together.

Clarke noticed how he left it as an open-ended statement. "We're fine."

For now, she thought.

When student council and debate started up in a week, the civilness would be all but a distant memory.

...

 **What's your favorite POV so far?**

 **1/15/16**


	3. Shut Up, Don't Mess With Me

**Chapter Three: Shut Up, Don't Mess With Me**

"Is it Wells again?" Monty asked when Clarke declined a phone call, making a sour face at the caller ID.

She glanced up from the textbook in her lap and nodded grimly. "Only the fourteenth time today."

After ignoring him for a week and a half in person, Clarke had assumed that Wells would have finally gotten the message through his thick skull that she wasn't interested in friendship. The bridge had been blasted by a nuclear bomb and no one, especially Wells, would be crossing it for a long time.

At first the phone calls were almost like a trophy in Clarke's opinion; it boosted her esteem to know that he was suffering over what he lost because she was suffering over what he had taken from her. But three and a half months was a long time to be nagged at and now it was just a hassle.

Clarke barely had enough time to eat most days without having to worry about Wells popping up from the bushes every three minutes. "I'm almost ready to change my number all together."

"What do you think he wants now?" Jasper barely looked up from the TV, apparently being too invested in sniping people from crumbling rooftops to even glance at his stepsister.

For some reason, Clarke didn't find it offensive the same way she might have a year ago. It just felt nice for things to finally slip back into it's natural routine. Packing up boxes with her dad in the house she spent most of her life in had been draining to her emotionally, and when he finally left in the middle of August she found herself developing an anti-social streak.

There was something about Jasper ignoring his responsibilities in favor of Ps4 games while she and Monty poured over the trig notes that made Clarke feel more at home than she had been for weeks. The familiarity of it all was enough for her to not let herself get too riled.

"Probably to tell me that he didn't mean for things to go down the way it did. Or whatever variation he's come up with this time."

"I honestly can't believe he can't take a hint," Monty said and Clarke appreciated his sympathy. "It's almost like a boulder at this point, even. I mean, he _clearly_ knows that you don't want to associate with him anymore."

Clarke glanced up at the TV screen as Jasper grunted, "You know what _I_ don't understand?" Either he asked rhetorically or they took too long to respond in the second he gave them because Jasper continued, "I don't understand how I keep dying. There's literally no vantage point to shoot me in the position I'm at. This game is glitched."

The change in conversation was impeccable. A minute longer dwelling on her ex-boyfriend and Clarke would have been ready to fling herself from the second story balcony.

"Or," she said, taking the controller from her brother's hands and watched as a perplexed frown took over his face, "there's a guy hiding beneath a beam that can get ya through that hole in the wall." She clicked a few buttons and then a character Jasper hadn't previously noticed flopped out from behind a collapsed wall with three bullet wounds and CGI blood spewing from his middle. Jasper's mouth dropped open. "Yeah, you should be good now." She pitched the controller back into Jasper's lap while Monty laughed.

Clarke laughed along with Monty, forcing herself to muffle her snorts with a pillow when Jasper dramatically face planted into his comforter, moaning about how stupid he was for missing the hole.

"At least you didn't have to start over from checkpoint." Monty returned his eyes to his book, but his smile wasn't fully wiped clean. He probably wasn't able to read with all of the distractions around them.

Distractions. Clarke seemed to need more distractions. At this point, the stupid shenanigans she found herself roped into by Monty and Jasper were the only things keeping the ticking time bomb in her stomach from reaching zero.

"Why don't you guys ever play video games with me?" Jasper asked, sitting up all of a sudden and nearly tumbling face first off of his bed in the process. "It's Saturday night so why are you two worrying about math?"

"Maybe because we like to know what we're doing in class."

"And we can't all get away with taking slacker-people math classes." Monty quipped.

"That's cold, Monty." Jasper rolled over into his pillow again.

Knowing that she would regret it as soon as she did, Clarke slapped the textbook in her lap shut, not even bothering to organize her notes. She asked for a distraction so she might as well make the best of her Saturday night.

Jasper's head bolted up when he felt the controller easing out of his hand, and he clearly wasn't expecting Clarke to be the one taking it from him because he relinquished it in a startle. "Clarke?" he asked and Clarke shrugged.

"You wanted somebody to play with. I was kind of sick of numbers anyway." She turned to Monty who had already shoved his own book aside and had nestled himself in a blanket near the foot of the bed. "You up for some first person shooter action?"

"I'm almost insulted you had to ask," he said, grabbing Jasper's camouflage controller.

"Finally," Jasper muttered, sitting up again. "Now maybe things will be interesting."

An incoming text made Clarke's back pocket buzz, but she ignored it. She was too absorbed in the video game world to be distracted by the real one.

…

By Monday afternoon, Clarke was whipped.

The night before consisted of a late soccer practice, so she had to make due with a flimsy blanket while sitting up on the bleachers for three-plus hours. It didn't help that she ended up having to stay up past midnight working on the trigonometry she never finished from the night Monty was over.

The only consolation at this point was that Bellamy Blake was having just as rough a time staying awake as Clarke. Every once in a while, she would glance over her shoulder to find him nodding off before shaking himself awake. Since Octavia was dedicated to soccer and the late night practices, Bellamy was forced to be dedicated to late night practices also. And knowing that Bellamy was just as miserable as she was brightened Clarke's day a smidge.

Not much, but a smidge.

Head propped up in her hands, Clarke forced herself to keep her eyes open. She could feel Wells's eyes boring into her from the back of the class, but she ignored him the same way she had been all day.

"The Black Death," Miss Cartwig announced excitedly and that caught everyone's attention. She scribbled ' _Black Death'_ on the board followed by a series of other events. "The Black Death," she continued, "was one of many hardships that hit Europe pre-dating the eighteenth cent—"

Pounding at the door interrupted Miss Cartwig's lecture, and a moment later a face was peering through the crack in the doorframe. Clarke sat up; this was the most interesting thing to have happened in class since school started a week and a half earlier.

Even Wells had torn his gaze from Clarke to watch the newcomer at the door.

"Miss Cartwig?" A boy with dark eyes and shaggy, long hair slipped into the classroom.

"Finn Collins." Miss Cartwig looked less than impressed with the boy at the front of the class. "You were supposed to be in my third hour."

The boy, Finn Collins, produced a scrappy piece of paper from the folds of his vest and handed it to her with a daring smirk at the corners of his lips. When his eyes shifted to Clarke, she found him grinning, "The office messed up my schedule."

Clarke rested her head back down her desk. If there had been anything interesting about his sudden appearance, it was gone now.

"Well at least you made it to class." There was a shuffling of papers. "Why don't you find a desk. You picked a good time to show up because I was about to assign the first project of the year."

Groans erupted throughout the room, almost sounding like a hive full of bees. A rush of cool air fanned Clarke from the side followed by the sound of books crashing down on the desktop to her left. Finn must've sat next to her.

She knew of Finn Collins from the previous year; he had transferred from TriKru Union halfway through junior year, but that was as far as her acquaintanceship with him went. This was the first class they had together and there really wasn't any reason for them to have spoken to each other before.

"Hey, I'm Finn."

Until now, at least.

He held out a hand and Clarke shook it slowly. "Clarke," she said.

For some reason, she expected him to initiate a conversation; whether it be about a sport, his summer, where he'd been the last week—anything. So when Finn turned back to the teacher without saying anything else, Clarke found herself feeling a bit disappointed.

"—picking one of the events on the board for your partner project." Clarke caught the last part of Miss Cartwig's explanation and her mood dipped even further. "First ones to have partners obviously get first dibs on whatever topic they'd like." She set a timer on the board. "You have six minutes."

Six minutes seemed like more than enough time, but then Clarke looked around the classroom. For an advanced placement class, there weren't a lot of people to choose from who would make an adequate partner. Then Wells Jaha was up in her face.

"Clarke," he said with a nervous smile. Clarke kept her expression neutral. "Did you want to be partners for the project?"

"No."

"Come on, Clarke." His voice was pleading, but Clarke found no sympathy for him.

She folded her arms defiantly. "I already have a partner."

Wells's eyebrows shot up. "Who? Bellamy paired up with Harper already so—"

"Why the hell would you think I'd _willingly_ be partners with Bellamy?"

"I don't know. I've seen you guys hanging out a few times and—"

"It's none of your business who I do and do not talk too." She glanced over at Finn, hunched over his textbook as if trying to decide what topic he was most interested in. Obviously he was eavesdropping, but Clarke had to give him credit for not blatantly staring the way other people in the school tended to. "And by the way," she slapped her palm down on Finn's desk, making him start, "Finn's my partner. So I'd suggest finding someone else before you're forced to work alone."

Wells stiffened, hardening his features slightly. Without another word, he wandered off to find a partner.

Clarke turned to Finn and he smiled, "Hey, partner."

Sighing, she hoped that she wouldn't regret her decision.

…

Wells was worried.

What if Jasper wouldn't talk to him either? Jasper might be Wells's last chance at reconciliation with Clarke, but it could very well already be game over if Jasper refused to hear him out.

He hoped it wasn't the case; when Wells had been dating Clarke, he and Jasper had gotten on along together fine. Still, there was a nagging sensation in the back of his head.

What if Jasper wouldn't help? What if he did and Clarke still wouldn't look at Wells? What if Wells made a rift between Jasper and Clarke?

That idea didn't rest well with him at all. Wells figured that he would let Clarke hate him forever before he would come between their brother/sister bond. Clarke was angry about her dad moving, so he could only imagine her wrath if she had a falling out with her brother.

Wells peeked around the corner. Boys were filing out of the locker room decked out in silver and red soccer jerseys—the official colors of the West Ark High Delinquents. On the opposite side of the hall, girls in matching uniforms marched out of the girls' locker room.

Wells waited and watched. He recognized Octavia Blake walking with Sterling Tracey and Fox Buchner, but still no Jasper. Wells was almost convinced that Jasper had skipped practice when he stumbled out of the locker room, hopping on one foot as he pulled his sock up his foot.

"Jasper," he hissed. Jasper stopped in his tracks, eyes wide and Wells realized he was still hiding around the corner.

He stepped out into the open and Jasper visibly relaxed. "Oh, Wells. What do you want?"

Wells bit down on his lip. "I was wondering about Clarke—"

"—then you might as well stop right there." It was off putting to see Jasper's eyes so cold, so unforgiving. "You really screwed with her, Wells, and I hate seeing her the way she is."

"And you think that I don't?" he exclaimed harshly. "You think I meant for her dad to get fired? Do you not think that I would go back and change things if I could? Because I would! Anything to bring Clarke back to me. To get her to look at me the same way she used too."

Jasper's glare softened, though not by much but Wells was just relieved that Jasper was talking to him. "It's a shame that there aren't time machines because it's a little too late to go back and change things."

"You're telling me."

"So what do you want, Wells? You know that I can't talk to her about you without her getting angry."

"I just want a list," Wells said. "A list of after school clubs or whatever activities that she's going to do."

Jasper laughed bitterly. "You're going to join her clubs to get close to her again?" The smile wiped from his face when he saw that Wells was being serious. "That sounds an aweful lot like selling Clarke out. Do you know how much she'd hate me if she knew I did it?"

"That's why she doesn't need to know. I'll tell her that I found out by asking around and asking people who didn't know we were over."

Jasper groaned, leaning against the wall. Wells recognized the fire in the younger boy's eyes; it was amazing how similar Jasper and Clarke had become after years living with each other. "I'll do it," he finally said.

Wells started to thank him but Jasper held up a palm and sharply added, "Not for you, but for her. She was the happiest I'd ever seen her when she was dating you. But if you screw her over again, I swear that you'll never want to show your face to me ever again. Are we clear?"

Wells nodded stoically and Jasper hurried down the hall grumbling about being late to the field.

Wells waited until Jasper was out of sight before releasing a breath he had been holding. He was going to have to fix this mess before things got too out of hand.

...

 **1/18/16**


	4. Let's Make a Deal

**Chapter Four: Let's Make a Deal**

As Bellamy bolted from the classroom, he tried not to be too upset about the project.

There were a few pros to his predicament, first of which being that he was partners with Harper; she was cute to look at, always had an extra granola bar, and she was smart enough to carry her own weight for the project.

Not that the last part mattered all too much—Bellamy prefered doing partner work himself; that way, he knew he was going to get a good grade on the assignment. Everyone in the school may have viewed him as lazy with nothing to live up too, but Bellamy had plans.

Plans that didn't involve staying in Edison, New Jersey all of his life. Plans that required higher than a 2.0 GPA.

When Bellamy got to room 221 where the student-council meeting was set to be held, he was barely fazed by the blonde at the front of the room. Clarke was always first. Bellamy suspected that her apt to be first in the class was her subtle way of proclaiming to everyone else that _she was in charge and no one had better cross her._

"You're here early," Clarke said without looking up from her book. The desks were neatly arranged in a circle with Clarke's podium at the head.

Bellamy snorted, settling into a desk on the opposite side of the circle as Clarke. "I could say the same about you, but I don't think it really constitutes to you any more."

Clarke's eyes narrowed but she didn't look up from her page. "And the barbarian _does_ have a brain. I'd never have guessed it."

"Impressed by my vocabulary skills, huh? News flash, Princess: I'm not as dumb as you and everyone else takes me for."

"I don't think you're dumb; I just think that you lack a decent personality."

Her eyes remained glued to whatever novel she was reading, and Bellamy ignored her right back. It was just like Clarke to leave an insult hanging that he wasn't even sure how to respond too. So instead, he fished around in his bag for the half-empty Dr. Pepper he had stashed and pulled out his notebook.

When he started jotting down different notes about the _Crusades_ , out of the corner of his eye, Bellamy noticed that Clarke had raised an eyebrow though she didn't say anything. He redirected his attention back on his notes. That's right. _Let the princess be impressed_.

Less than ten minutes had passed when the flow of student council members had made it's peak. Harper came in, only to take a seat near Clarke and engage in a conversation.

Fine, he thought. Go sit with her highness instead of sitting with your history partner.

Sterling and Fox filtered in a minute later holding hands. Then a pile of books slammed down to Bellamy's left and suddenly Miller was there. "Hey, dude."

"Hey." Bellamy ignored the unamused glare that Clarke and Harper were shooting in their direction. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."

Miller shrugged. "I didn't realize you were going to be here so— " he sat down on the desktop and glanced briefly at Clarke before turning back to Bellamy. "—early. Oh, I got you bro. The princess is quite the catch."

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "As if I'd ever have feelings for Clarke."

Miller laughed, "Yeah, that's true. I don't think that'll ever happen. Especially with Wells in the way."

Bellamy grinned along, but he wasn't so sure about where Wells stood in the Clarke equation anymore. They hadn't seemed too close from what he had observed over the last few weeks, but it was possible that he was mistaken. He hadn't been paying that much attention. "Where's Monroe?"

"She should be here in a few." Miller waved a dismissive hand. "Probably had to pee or something. Maybe fix her hair. It sucks that Murphy didn't want to do stu-co this year."

Bellamy shrugged. "This never really was his thing though. Murphy would rather kick someone's ass on the street than this."

Monroe made it to the room three minutes before the meeting was due to start. What surprised everyone, however, was that the golden boy, Wells Jaha, who had been student-council president for three years running and was known for being punctual, was two minutes late.

Bellamy noted that the younger boy was out of breath when he stumbled into the room and was walking funny on his ankle. "Sorry I'm late," Wells breathed, hands clamped over his knees. "I was on—"

"—it's fine," Clarke cut in coldly. Another prime example in which Clarke's relations with Wells seemed to be over, in Bellamy's opinion. Her eyes focused in on Wells, daring him to challenge her. "Take a seat."

Wells slouched into a seat two down from Monroe. "What's going on with them?" she whispered to Bellamy and he could only shrug in response.

"First project on the table is going to be organizing homecoming—" Clarke paused for the collective groans, "—which gives us about six weeks of preparation. So we can't waste any time during meetings." She grabbed a marker from off the whiteboard ledge. "I think—"

"Clarke?" Sterling interrupted. Clarke recapped her marker and turned toward him. "Don't you think it would be a good idea to get student council president out of the way real fast?"

Clarke rolled her eyes, which Bellamy found somewhat obnoxious. "Is it really necessary?" she asked slightly annoyed.

"Yeah," Bellamy agreed gruffly, "we all know Wells is going to snowball the competition anyway."

Clarke stiffened suddenly, like the thought of Wells being in charge made her skin crawl. Wells slumped down in his seat slightly. "Okay," she relented, "we can pick this year's president real quick."

Bellamy pretended to be occupied by his phone while Clarke passed out blank sheets of recycled paper. He still thought it was a stupid idea since Wells was going to win regardless. When a blank note was placed on his desk, Bellamy quickly scribbled _Wells_ on the blank space, folded it up, then gave it to Monroe who was getting up to give hers to Clarke.

When Clarke had all eight paper slips back in her hand, she handed them to Harper to read off.

"First one is for Wells," Harper read and Bellamy set his head down on his desk. He was expecting as much. With a disdainful scowl, Clarke wrote Wells's name on the board and added a tally point beneath it.

"One for Clarke."

That wasn't a surprise either. The princess was the only real competition that stood in Wells's four year wrote her name on the board and added a point.

"Another one for Clarke. Another one for Wells. One for Bellamy."

Bellamy's head shot up, eyes wide. He couldn't have heard that right—someone had voted _him_ as president? Over Clarke and Wells?

Sure enough, Clarke had written Bellamy's name on the board in swooping letters and—wait, was she smiling as she gave him a tally point below his name?

He couldn't be sure if he had seen it right because Miller was clapping him on the back saying, "Yeah, Bellamy!" while Monroe gave him a playful shove in the arm. Bellamy grinned, slightly embarrassed.

Harper continued, "Another one for Bellamy. Another one for Bellamy." She raised her eyebrows, nodding like she was impressed by the turn-out. Bellamy couldn't find it in himself to be offended even in the slightest because he was surprised too. "And another one for Clarke."

"Damn," Sterling muttered.

"Final standing is that Clarke and Bellamy are tied with three votes each and Wells is in second with two." Harper pitched the paper slips into the trash, then sat down.

Bellamy glanced over at Wells, expecting the mini-superintendent to be furious by his loss but he just sat silently with his fingers steepled together. In fact, he looked like he had been expecting this turn out all along and welcomed it calmly like one might welcome death.

The thought made Bellamy scowl.

"Well, what now?" Miller's demand broke Bellamy from his thoughts.

"Is there going to be a tie-breaker?" Fox asked meekly.

Clarked scowled. "We really don't have time for that. This was only supposed to be a half hour meeting and we've already accomplished less than I would have prefered too."

"What _you_ would have prefered too," Bellamy repeated. Clarke gave him a look, but Bellamy's gut swelled with annoyance. "Look, Princess, you weren't elected as the superior authority, okay? We need to settle this now."

"We don't have time for—"

"Then who's going to run this thing? Make the rules? _You_?"

"Both of us," Clarke responded sharply, taking Bellamy back. The tension in the room spiked and everyone held their breath. "We were both elected, alright? From now on, we can work together as co-leaders until we find a time to settle it out. Deal?"

Bellamy reconsidered the proposal. It was better to share partial authority than being demoted right on the spot.

Locking eyes with Clarke, Bellamy nodded once. "Deal."

…

For once, soccer didn't relax Jasper. The run in with Wells and the promise he'd made was making him jumpy.

Already he had missed two goals that should have been easy shots and his passes were off by at least a foot every time, if not more. The team was already down a few players who had to skip for student council which meant everyone on the team was supposed to up their game.

Instead, Jasper was on a downward spiral. He passed the ball to a girl named Charlotte, but it skimmed right past, missing her by several inches.

"Jordan!" He winced as the coach yelled at him for who knew what time that day. "PASS the ball! You're playing with other people, not the benches and trees! Lock it up!"

Practice ended less than fifteen minutes later, but it was still an extra few minutes for him to embarrass himself further. Not only did he miss another goal, but the ball he kicked bounced off the goal post and hit one of his teammates in the head. Luckily she had been fine, but Jasper still felt horrible.

"What happened out there?" Monty asked as Jasper approached the benches on the sidelines. "You haven't played that bad since the sixth grade."

He hesitated momentarily. "Wells came and talked to me right before practice and it's been bugging me."

Monty's eyebrows immediately shot up, then narrowed just as quickly. "What did he want?"

"He wants me to get him a list of Clarke's after-school activities and stuff so he can join them and make her fall in love with him again."

"You didn't agree to that did you?"

"Uh—"

"Jasper, you didn't." It was more of statement than question.

Jasper scratched at the mark his socks had left around his calves. "She was really happy when she was with him, so if he can win her over maybe she'll be happy again."

"You really think that Clarke is going to kiss and make-up with him? After what he did?" Monty shook his head in disbelief.

"You seem pretty quick to shut the idea down."

"Only because I know how Clarke will react to it and you do too. If she ever found out you gave him a list like that, she'd be livid."

"That thought did cross my mind." Jasper searched Monty's face, looking for an answer but came up empty. "What should I do?"

"Not give Clarke's schedule to Wells for one thing. We both know she'd never sell you out so it's not fair if you did that to her."

"I guess you're—" Octavia sprinted in their direction and Jasper choked his words back down as she approached them. "O-oh, hey there, Octavia."

Octavia grinned. Her hair was pulled back in a knot of braids and a single ponytail holding it all together. "Hey, Jasper. Monty." She nodded and Monty nodded back.

"What brings you over?" Jasper leaned up against the fence, hoping he looked cool. He ignored the huff from Monty.

"A bunch of us are going to Dairy Queen after the game on Friday just to hang out." She cocked her head to the side and smiled. "I was just wondering if maybe you and Monty would wanna tag along?"

"I don't know," Monty started and Jasper knew he had to think fast before Monty ruined everything. "Clarke is usually our ride so—"

"—of course we'll come!" Jasper interrupted, sidestepping in front of Monty. He could already feel the storm of wrath building up behind him, but Jasper forced himself not to show it. "We'll totally see you there!"

Octavia's smile faltered slightly, and Jasper figured she must have been picking up on the tension between him and Monty. "Great. It'll be really fun." She turned like she was ready to jog off, but peered over her shoulder and said, "Clarke is welcome too, so. No biggie if she needs to tag along." Then she was on the other side of the field again.

Jasper sighed deeply, a dopey love-struck smile on his face. But he barely had time to replay the event in his mind before Monty was hitting him in the arm. "Ow! What the—"

"Are you crazy?" Monty demanded.

"No. Don't you see? This is the perfect time for me to make a connection with Octavia!" He sighed again, staring out to where Octavia was packing up her soccer bag.

"Clarke will flip if she knows you're going out with Octavia. Her and Bellamy are like, sworn enemies."

This time it was Jasper's turn to be indignant. He knew Clarke had a rivalry with Bellamy that extended back to the eighth grade over some argument about gun control policies which eventually gave way to their great dislike for each other throughout high school; however, Jasper didn't really get the point of it all.

In his mind, it's like, yeah sure —have your disagreements. But Bellamy was actually a pretty cool, stand up guy and Jasper admired him a lot. And Clarke hating anything to do with Bellamy Blake made things harder for Jasper and his crush on Octavia Blake because obviously Octavia had a lot to do with Bellamy as his sister and all.

Of course, only Monty knew his feelings on the subject.

"Clarke won't have to find out. I overheard her talking to Abby and she has to meet-up with some guy named Finn for a project Friday so she'll be gone all night. It's perfect and when will something as perfect as this going to work out again?"

Monty pursed his lips. "What are you gonna tell Abby and your dad then?"

"I'll tell them I'm going to hang out with you at your house and you can tell your parents that you're going to my house for the night."

"All of this just to hang out with Octavia?"

"I'm a man in love, Monty. Men do crazy things for love."

Monty clenched the top of the fence until his palms had indentations. "I'm in, but on one condition."

"Name it."

"You promise not to give Wells that list."

"Deal."

...

 **How are you guys liking it so far? I'd love for some more feedback about what you like and don't like. I'm open for some suggestions too.**

 **Is everyone excited for season three tonight!? I'm so happy I could cry lol**

 **also, regarding an updating schedule...i really don't have one. I just write when I find time and I've had alot of down-time lately which is why I've gotten so many chapters up so fast.**

 **1/21/16**


	5. Soccer is Love, Soccer is Life or

**Chapter Five: Soccer is Love, Soccer is Life or America Runs on Dunkin**

The Delinquents were going to win tonight—Octavia could feel it in her bones.

There was no way she was going to let the stuck up kids over from Mecha Prep beat them in a game that was West Ark's strongest sport. Even the football team didn't have the same respect that the soccer team did, and Octavia Beatrice Blake was determined to keep it that way.

Every practice that week had been in preparation for their first big home game. Sure, they had already played a few games with some of the neighboring districts, but the Mecha Phoenix's were coming all the way from Atlantic City and Octavia knew it would boost alot of school spirit if the Delinquents were to win. It wouldn't be as good as crushing Mount Weather or Trikru Union, but it would still be satisfying.

"You seem jittery," Monty muttered, nodding slightly towards Octavia's leg bouncing in rhythmic spurts. She released a breath, forcing her leg to stop moving. "Not that it's a bad thing," he amended quickly. "You have a right to be nervous."

"I'm not nervous," she responded. "I'm excited."

"Well, that's probably a better mindset."

Octavia looked up at the board and immediately wished that she hadn't. Numbers and symbols swirled around in her brain as she stared ahead at the examples. Math was never her forte, so how she managed to wiggle her way into accelerated math courses was beyond her. In retrospect, it was a horrible idea to daydream while she was supposed to have been taking notes.

"Monty?" She tapped him on the wrist with the end of her pencil and he glanced up at her. "Yeah, what are we working on right now?"

Octavia saw the ghost of a grin playing out on Monty's face. Setting his pencil down, he said, "You weren't paying attention at all, were you?"

"I know that we're dealing with triangles."

"Do you know that because you were paying attention or because there's six triangles drawn on the board?"

"Touché." Octavia glanced down at her lined piece of paper, devoid of anything save a few lazy doodles. "So are you going to help me out or not?"

Monty rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless as he slide his paper across the desktop to her. "I won't leave you hanging."

Octavia felt a weight taken off of her shoulders. If Bellamy knew she had failed another math unit, he'd be furious. "Monty, you're a lifesaver."

"I try." He picked his pencil back up only to realize he didn't have notes to go off of, so he set it back down. "So," he started casually, "big soccer game tonight, huh?"

A new wave of excitement flowed through her veins, temporarily making her forget about her work again. "I know! I'm really excited. We're gonna crush them into next season."

"Jasper's been telling me the same thing all week," he laughed, propping his head up on his palm.

"You two are still coming to hang out after the game, aren't you?" Monty hesitated, opening his mouth a fraction and then closing it again. Octavia felt her lips fold into a slight frown. "It won't be the same without you guys."

"I know Jasper is going to do anything in his power to be there," he promised. "I plan on being there." Monty shrugged. "Hopefully everything works out."

"That's all you can really do, ya know? Hope for the best." She turned her attention back down to the notes she was copying down and scowled. "Guess we better hope for the best when I fail that test on Monday. Bellamy is gonna _kill_ me."

…

The high amount of anticipation that Octavia had for the upcoming game left her feeling antsy; all she wanted to do was get down on the field and take a few last minute practice shots to calm her adrenaline rush. She was so wound up in fact, she wasn't sure if she would have a random spaz attack and break something.

The pure desire Octavia had to get to the field also influenced her decision to bring her soccer bag and all of her books to her final period so she could skip going to her locker all-together. Even though she didn't sprint down to the locker rooms at top speeds like she had planned too, it did work out that she didn't have to go to her locker because Octavia tagged along with Monty instead.

"So you and Jasper have been friends for a long time then, huh," she commented as they walked, hauling her duffel bag behind her.

Monty's eyebrows raised slightly. "We've known each other since kindergarten but we didn't really start hanging out until second grade." He darted through a wave of kids flowing down the hall, forcing Octavia to keep up after him until he stopped in front of a locker.

His locker, she presumed.

"That's really cool," Octavia murmured. She had been home-schooled by her mother up until the sixth grade when her work schedule was changed, so she hadn't gotten to know her peers as long as everyone else.

She didn't mean too, but Octavia always envied her brother for being able to go to school with kids his age and make friends while she was forced to do so at home, by herself. Not that she didn't like spending time at home with her mom and sleeping in was way nicer than getting up at six in the morning, but having a childhood friend was something she'd never get to experience.

"No, that's fine," a familiar voice—Jasper's voice—said behind her.

Octavia looked toward the origin of his voice as subtly as he could and sure enough, there was Jasper talking with Clarke as she exchanged books in her locker.

At first, Octavia wasn't sure if she should eavesdrop, but then she saw that Monty had paused to listen in too so she figured it was okay.

"Are you sure?" Clarke was saying, her eyebrows knit in concern as she shoved a book in her locker. "I know that this game is a pretty big deal for you."

Jasper waved it off like it wasn't of importance, when in reality, it was. Octavia couldn't imagine why he wouldn't want Clarke to watch him in the game. "I know how important this project is for you."

Clarke raised her eyebrows. "I bet Finn would understand if I had to reschedule to tomorrow."

Octavia recalled Bellamy complaining about a project for school a few days earlier.

Jasper ran a hand through his mop of curls and his words rushed together, almost as if he were nervous about something. "Probably, but I know you've had it planned for a week." He relaxed for what looked like the first time since Octavia started watching them. "Besides, it's not like we're playing the Mountain Men or Grounders. Now _that_ I wouldn't forgive you for if you didn't show up."

He sounded kind of cocky about it, making Octavia grin. Apparently Clarke found it amusing too because she smiled as she rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't miss you guys whooping the Mountain Men's asses," she laughed softly.

The blonde looked up at a clock on the wall in Octavia's general direction and she and Monty redirected their attention for a second before turning back to finish their eavesdropping.

"Well I should probably get going so I can meet up with Finn on time." Suddenly the smile fell from her face and she assumed a weary facade. "Will you need a ride after? Because I can come and get you."

"Monty will take me home later."

"Okay. I'll see you at home then." She ruffled his hair good naturedly, then hurried off toward the main stairwell.

Octavia turned back to Monty. "She's pretty protective, huh?"

Monty shrugged, motioning for her to walk with him and she tagged along at his side. She noted that they were heading toward Jasper, making the smallest of smiles find its way to her face. "She kind of volunteered herself as Jasper's personal babysitter after their parents got married," Monty explained. "The phase hasn't seemed to pass."

"I can relate," she replied and nothing about the statement was a lie. Even though she appreciated Bellamy's concern for her, most of the time she viewed his constant hovering as smothering.

Jasper had just finished packing up his stuff when they reached him. "Oh, hey guys," he greeted, closing his locker. His cheeks took on a pink hue when his eyes met with Octavia's and she couldn't help but find it endearing.

"Everything cool with Clarke?" Monty asked.

Octavia watched as Jasper's eyes flashed dangerously at Monty before he resumed a forced, yet casual expression. "Yeah, she's just bummed that she can't go to the game."

"Why?" She figured it would blow their secret if she hadn't acted at least a little curious.

"She has to work on a project with some guy."

"Ah."

"You guys ready to hit the field?" Jasper knelt down to grab his duffel bag.

"I've literally been waiting all day to hear someone say that," Octavia grinned. "Let's go."

…

The calming atmosphere of the coffee shop was enough to lower Clarke's heart rate.

It wasn't that she was nervous or scared about working with Finn, she just would have prefered working on it separately. She had even proposed the idea to him the day they were partnered together, but he had insisted that they should meet up at least once to work on it together.

Maybe that's why she was so concerned about meeting him tonight; she wasn't used to someone being so adamant about spending time with her, other than maybe Jasper. And Wells when he was still a part of her life.

She found a spot in the corner near the window, giving her a full vantage point over the rest of the restaurant as well as to the outside world. Every once in awhile, she'd look up from her laptop screen to see if Finn had made his way into the restaurant but each time Clarke was met with emptiness.

When she looked around for Finn for what had to be at least the tenth time, a new feeling settled into her stomach; disappointment.

Clarke didn't realize how much she had been looking forward to spending time with him until now.

Maybe she should just get herself a coffee and head to the game instead. She still had time to catch the majority of the game if she were to leave right now.

Just as Clarke resolved to packing up, Finn slid into the chair across from her. She blinked at him as he pushed a steaming paper cup across the table to her. "I'm surprised you showed up," she said, wincing at how bitter the words sounded leaving her mouth.

"Why do you say that?" He dropped his bag on the floor near his chair and pulled out a laptop as well as a few sheets of loose-leaf paper with notes scribbled on them.

"Well I've been waiting for you ever since school ended," she said. "That's almost forty minutes, if that tells you anything."

Finn's mouth creased into a thin line, then quirked into a small smile. "You're right and I'm sorry." Clarke struggled to keep her mouth from hanging ajar in mild surprise. "I forgot my notes at home like the idiot I am and then went to Dunkin Donuts for coffee in an attempt to make up for being late. Guess I should've skipped out on the coffee though because the line was crazy and ended up with me being even later than I would have been."

Now that... _that_ is not the excuse she had been expecting. Something ridiculous about his car breaking down or his mom making him do chores seemed more on hand since Finn looked like a guy who would revel in the classics.

She would have even called him out on it being a decent lie except that she had a Dunkin Donuts cup in her hand and she knew from experience that it did get busy there at this time of day. Especially on game days since it was in walking distance of the school.

She couldn't even try to call him out on his notes because he had even told her that day in class that he was going to have to go home for them.

"I'm surprised you even made it here then," she mumbled, smiling slightly as she grabbed the coffee in front of her. It was warm in her palm but not overly so, giving her the go ahead on taking a sip. "The parking lot is usually crammed after school."

Finn ran his fingers through his hair as he laughed. The crinkles by his eyes made her wonder who could have been able to make him laugh so much for there to be permanent evidence. "I learned that the hard way."

"How much was it?" Clarke rummaged around in her bag, knowing that she at least a five floating somewhere around in there.

"Don't worry about it," Finn said as Clarke pulled out the bill she had been looking for.

"Are you sure?" She knit her eyebrows in concern, searching her brain for a reason as to why he was being overly civil. It wasn't like they had known each other before that Monday.

"Consider it a gift. I hope that it's a good enough peace offering because I don't think I'll be able to do it again because that line was crazy. Unless I'm late again, but I'm not about that life."

Clarke wasn't sure if he was being serious or not because they were literally sitting in a restaurant known for it's coffee. "You know, we could always get coffee here."

"I guess," he responded in a drawl, as if he had already considered the possibility. "But does anyone really beat Dunkin Donuts?"

Clarke raised a brow challengingly, a smirk tugging at the edge of her lips. "I take it you've never had a coffee from here then."

Finn shrugged. "I'm a man who's dedicated to Dunkin. It's a lifestyle really." He leaned forward as if too share a secret, making Clarke acutely aware that he was close enough for her to make out his individual eyelashes. "America runs on Dunkin."

Clarke slid back in her seat, huffing incredulously as her back settled against the chair. Yet, she couldn't help but find it funny. "That's a touch childish, don't you think?" she grinned.

"It got you to laugh, didn't it?"

The response made Clarke stop short, unsure about the situation. So he was trying to win her attention, which wasn't something she found completely out of the ordinary, but what was she doing _enjoying_ the attention?

Now that her relationship was over, she was supposed to be untouchable—like a priceless diamond that everyone coveted but could never touch thanks to the protective glass separating such a treasure from the greedy, outside world. Clarke was priceless and she wasn't about to let some random guy that she barely knew put a crack in that glass.

Grade-A, high quality, bulletproof glass ( because Clarke wouldn't settle for anything less.)

But that damned smile that Finn had was almost too cute for his own good and Clarke had to make sure to keep her feelings in check and her priorities on top. Grades, Jasper, her dad, and herself all came before some guy who happened to smell nice and bring her coffee….

Clarke cleared her throat and turned her attention back to her laptop screen. "I guess I'll have to be the ambassador then," she said, hoping that she sounded bitter as she pretended to read a passage from her screen. "I'll have to introduce you to a _new_ lifestyle."

She heard Finn giggle, but she stubbornly kept her eyes fixated on her screen even if she was fully aware that she was only scrolling through the page and not really reading anything. He didn't have to have the satisfaction of knowing that she didn't find him as repulsive as before.

"Sounds like a plan. I'm buying."

"You're getting ahead of yourself."

"There's not a problem in preparing for the future."

Clarke cocked her head to the side, finally looking up from her screen to find Finn scribbling down notes in the margins of his notebook. "No," she conceded softly, "I guess not."

…

Monty cheered, making sure to keep his distance from Wells who was also standing on the fence.

There was only five minutes left in the game, but every second felt like an eternity. Just standing in the same vicinity as Wells riled Monty up, and he couldn't wait to get out of there.

Pressing his forearms against the bar, he desperately tried to focus on Jasper who had finally managed to get possession of the ball for the first time since the season started, but Wells' longing look was too distracting.

Obviously he was longing for the list that Jasper had said he was going to give him. The look of shock and betrayal that Wells was going to have when he realized Jasper wasn't going to help him was enough to make Monty grin.

Monty wasn't the type of person to wish pain on others or to hold grudges, but he _hated_ Wells. Over the years, Clarke had become like a sister to Monty; even before she became his best friend's sister, Monty had always held Clarke in high esteem.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that she stood up for everyone when Murphy would go on power trips when they were kids or how she used to have the best birthday parties. At any rate, Clarke had already assumed a high rank in Monty's mind, but her and Jasper becoming stepsiblings had only solidified those feelings when he managed to get to know her on a personal basis.

As Clarke's best friend besides Jasper and Harper, Monty was royally pissed when he received a phone call from Jasper saying to get over to their house ASAP. He walked in to find Clarke holed away inside her room with the door locked, audible sobs of misery on the other side, while Jasper, Marcus, and Abby tried convincing her to open the door to let them in.

She didn't come out for three days, living on week old pizza from one of their last hangout sessions and water from the bathroom faucet. It wasn't until Jake Griffin knocked on the door asking if she wanted to build a snowman did she open it a crack to let him in.

Never had Monty seen Clarke in such disrepair.

And it was all Wells's fault.

The game ended 1-0, Delinquents winning in the last two minutes thanks to Octavia and Sterling's quick pass and block strategy. The team picked up Octavia and Sterling, holding them up on their shoulders in triumph as the Phoenixes slumped off of the field. One of them, a girl with long blonde hair, kicked a ball so hard in rage that her shoe flung off into the visitor stands.

Subconsciously, Monty hoped she got her shoe back.

As people filtered away, Monty found himself alone with Wells. Either Wells didn't notice him or he didn't recognize him because the older boy made no attempt in conversation. Instead, they watched the team pack up their bags. It wasn't until Jasper and Octavia started jogging in his direction did Monty's grimace soften.

"Jasper!" Wells waved when they were in shouting distance.

Jasper whispered something to Octavia and she made a face. Something told Monty that he made a jab at Wells, making him crack a slight grin.

"Hi, Wells," Jasper said coolly, gliding up to the fence. Octavia hung back and off to the side.

"Do you have the thing?" Wells asked, his voice small as he glanced around, as if searching for hidden cameras or something in the bushes. Or someone in the bushes. Maybe he was scared Clarke was going to jump from the bushes to give him a piece of her mind.

Jasper stared at him, unblinking. "Sorry, Wells. Turns out I can't help you."

Wells's face slackened. "What?"

"I can't help you." He slapped him on the shoulder as if they were good pals. "Sorry about your luck, buddy."

Jasper nodded his head, a signal for Monty and Octavia to follow him out, but Wells caught him by the shoulder of his jersey. "Hold it. What do you mean you can't help me?"

"I mean," Jasper snorted, ripping out of Wells's grasp, "that I can't give you that list."

"Why? I promise that she won't find out it was you. Last thing I want is for you guys to be on bad terms."

"Oh," Monty stepped forward and Wells's eyes widened in surprise like this was the first time he had noticed Monty was even there. "Then you will be able to respect his choice then, right? We obviously don't want to put a strain on our relation with Clarke so that list is out of the question."

"But Jasper sai—"

"I know what I said," Jasper relented. "But then I remembered how long Clarke holds a grudge. And even though that sucks for you, I'm not willing to risk it. If she decides to forgive you, then I will too. So I'll see you around. Don't ask me for help again."

This time Octavia took the initiative and slung an arm around Jasper and Monty's shoulders and led them off the field and away from Wells. When they were out of earshot, she asked, "Okay, I'm not trying to be nosy _buuuut_ what the hell was that all about? What list? Clarke—"

"Extra curricular activities," Jasper answered, still wearing a frown. "I was almost stupid enough to give him one, too."

"Why would he need that?" Octavia came to a rough stop and eyeballed them.

"Wells got her dad fired so they broke up and—"

"They _broke up_?" Octavia interrupted Monty, shock in her eyes and her mouth agape. "But they were like, OTP."

"O-T-what?" Monty asked.

Octavia shook her head. "Not important. Wait, so he got her dad _fired_? _That's_ what that big scandal was last May?"

"Yeah," Jasper shifted his bag on his shoulder as they started walking again, "Jake was going through some files and found out how some people in high positions in the district were pulling strings to like, make their school get the highest SAT and ACT rankings in the country. He told Clarke about it and he said he was going to go public."

I remember because it was a Friday night. Wells was over and the three of us were playing Ps4 in my room when Clarke said she needed to tell us something. She made us promise not to say anything to anyone, which we did. I guess Wells either forgot he promised or thought he was justified in ratting out Jake, because the next morning we got a phone call saying that Jake had gotten arrested."

Octavia's mouth dropped farther. "They arrested him?"

Monty saw Jasper's jaw lock. "Wells told his dad, the damn superintendent, about the thing, and had him arrested, yes. But since what Jake found was illegal anyway, they had to drop the charges."

"Well, if what he found was illegal, then why did he get fired still?"

"Because he was poking around in files that he wasn't supposed to be," Monty scowled. "Not fair in my opinion because he totally uncovered a knee deep scam that could've gotten _Jaha_ fired if it had gone unnoticed much longer."

Octavia frowned. And then there they were, the three of them standing on the edge of the parking lot with frowns on their faces. If it weren't for their distinct colored jerseys, people passing by might have mistaken them for members of the losing team.

"That's not fair," Octavia grumbled, breaking the silence at last.

"Yeah well, a lot of things aren't fair." Jasper phrased it like he was trying to put a positive spin on it, but Monty picked up on the bitterness in his tone. He was still mad, like the rest of them were.

They stood in silence for a few minutes when Octavia broke it again for the second time, "Did you guys want a ride? To the Dairy Queen, I mean?"

Monty glanced over at Jasper who was already trying to look nonchalant but deep down was probably squealing in delight. "Yeah. That'd be great, Octavia," Monty responded when he realized Jasper wasn't going to.

Octavia beamed. "Great. Bellamy should be here—"

"Bellamy?" Jasper gulped.

Monty's stomach dropped as a dark blue car skidded to a stop beside them. Octavia hopped down off the curb and flung the passenger's side door open and pushed the front seat forward. "Get in," she said to no one in particular.

Monty nodded for Jasper to go first. He was the one with a crush on Octavia and he was the one who would have to deal with Bellamy as a brother-in-law if everything worked out according to Jasper's plans. He could go first.

"Octavia?" Bellamy's voice came from the driver's seat. "What are you—" He stopped, eyes landing on Jasper. "Isn't that Clarke's brother? O, what is going—"

Octavia snorted, shooting another look and Monty didn't have to be told twice and climbed into the backseat. Jasper shuffled in behind him, and then Octavia pushed the seat into place and climbed in herself.

Monty and Jasper were trapped in the backseat of Bellamy Blake's car.

...

 **thank you for all the lovely reviews! they keep me going :) I was thinking about maybe starting an AU collection of 100 oneshots. good idea or nah?**

 **episode one of season three was pretty badass too, huh? i miss my cinnamon roll Jasper, guys.**

 **1/25/16**


	6. Legends Told in the Stars

**Chapter Six: Legends Told in the Stars**

Monty tried to keep calm as he sat in the backseat.

Never in a million years would he have thought that he'd be riding in the backseat of Bellamy Blake's car. And it wasn't that Monty was afraid of Bellamy, because he wasn't.

Bellamy wasn't exactly popular in the traditional sense that typical movies like _Mean Girls_ try to portray. Everyone knew that he was working three jobs and taking advanced classes in attempts to get into a recognizable college. Everyone knew that his main goal at this point was to get a degree in social science.

The hard work and dedication that Bellamy had been putting into his work since starting high school was notable and everyone respected him for it or held him in at least some high esteem. _Almost_ everyone. Clarke was too oblivious by their rivalry to view him any differently from the boy who dumped a pail of sand in her lap in kindergarten.

The car ride wasn't long at all—maybe ten minutes at the most. Jasper and Monty stayed quiet while Octavia filled the silence with a recap of her day while Bellamy listened. "Thanks for the ride, Bellamy," Octavia said as she pushed the front-seat forward enough for the two boys in the back to scramble out.

Bellamy eyed Jasper warily before glancing back to Octavia. "What time do you need a pick-up, O?"

Monty noticed Bellamy regard Jasper suspiciously again and Monty wondered if it was because he was Clarke's brother or if Bellamy knew of Jasper's crush on Octavia. "Few hours," Octavia said and let the seat spring back into place. "I'll call you."

"Are they going to need a ride too?" Monty had expected Bellamy's tone to be hostile but it was surprisingly calm.

Octavia glanced over at Jasper who shook his head. "No, uh," he hesitated, looking nervous, "Clarke's supposed to come get us."

Bellamy scoffed slightly, shaking his head. He muttered something under his breath—"the _princess_ " Monty heard—then he nodded. "Okay, I'll be back around ten to get you, O."

Octavia scrunched up her nose, clearly disappointed. "Why so early? I said I'd call you."

"Mom doesn't want you out later than that. Plus, I'm going over to Miller's and I don't need to be worrying about the trouble you're getting into while I'm over there."

"Fine. But don't show up even a minute before ten."

"Someone's being bossy. Makes me wonder what you're up to." He tilted his nose down and Octavia blushed slightly.

Monty turned away politely, pretending to take an interest in an ant crawling between the cracks of the sidewalk while Octavia hastily hissed at her brother. When Monty looked up, Bellamy was pulling out of the parking lot and Octavia's face was returning to it's normal color.

"Everything good?" Jasper asked upon her return to them.

Octavia nodded, rubbing circles into her arms. "Just Bellamy being a dick, per the usual. Come on, I can see Sterling's car parked near the front."

…

After having gotten his M&M blizzard, Jasper followed Octavia to a table where a few of the other soccer kids decided to settle.

The entire place was full of people that Jasper recognized from the team and most of them had other friends along with them. The noise decibel was through the roof, reminding Jasper of when he was forced to eat in college cafeterias on field trips. He found not being able to hear the person sitting across from him rather annoying.

Octavia slid into a booth with Harper, Fox, and Sterling which Jasper found appropriate. Other than being on the soccer team, he knew that the three of them also resided on student-council because on more than one occasion they had been over to help Clarke out with something or other.

When Harper smiled at them, Jasper made sure to nudge Monty in the side roughly and he almost tripped head first into the table except he was able to right himself at the last moment. "Hi," Monty tried to cover it up but his face was still slightly flushed and his voice was weak.

Jasper had to keep from laughing, but then Octavia grabbed him by the cuff of his hoodie and pulled him over so that their shoulders brushed as they sat. He took it that his face said it all because suddenly Monty was the one refraining his giggles.

"You guys did great today," Harper gushed excitedly to Sterling and Octavia.

Octavia shrugged nonchalantly. "Not a big deal. Right place at the right time."

"Yeah," Sterling agreed, crossing his arms on the table. "It was kind of a fluke. It only went in the net because the goalie tripped over his own feet."

"Who cares?" Jasper's stomach twisted as everyone's eyes turned to him. God, he was so awkward. "I mean, we won right? Flukes still count."

Everyone stayed quiet for a second, but then Fox said "Jasper's right" and the growing pit in his stomach stopped deepening.

"We beat Mecha Prep and that's what matters." She planted a kiss on Sterling's cheek.

Quickly licking the ice cream off of his spoon, Japser stuck it back into the lump of ice cream and then held the cup up over the table. "To winning!"

He felt stupid for a second, but then Monty's cotton candy and Octavia's double-chocolate chip cookie dough blizzards joined his in the middle followed by everyone else's. "To winning!" they cheered, breaking out into giggles.

As more people filtered in, the louder the room got. Some of the kids who happened to be present were trembling behind their parents, terrified of the older kids hanging around like they owned the place.

Octavia must have read his mind because she called over the noise, "You guys wanna go to the elementary school play yard?"

"Sounds good!" Harper shouted back.

Jasper slid out of the booth, falling into step with Monty as Harper and Octavia led the way through the restaurant and to the door. The elementary school was just down the sidewalk from the Dairy Queen, making it an ideal spot for them to unwind.

"Are you going to talk to her?" Jasper nudged Monty. Harper and Octavia were talking in depthly with their hands.

Monty scowled. "No way."

"Why not?"

"Unlike you, I don't have an entire battle plan drawn up on how to get a girl to like me."

"I can get my box of crayons and colored construction paper and have one drawn up for you in like, thirty minutes."

Monty rolled his eyes. "No thank you."

"Okay," Jasper shrugged as they stepped onto the school yard field. "But I'm always here to help you with your girl problems, buddy."

They took their time crossing the field opposed to the mad bolt to the merry-go-round that Octavia had opted for. Harper called out to her to slow it down, but then she took off to intercept Octavia at break-neck speeds.

"Come on," Jasper laughed, pulling Monty along once they made it within a reasonable jogging distance.

Octavia's hair whipped around as she held onto the metal bars, leaning her torso off the edge as far as she dared. Even in her dirty, yellow uniform and clashing flip-flops she looked so _beautiful_.

Jasper was so busy staring at her, he hadn't even registered that Monty had already climbed onto the merry-go-round or that he was just awkwardly watching them spin with a dopey smile on his face.

"Jasper!" Monty cupped his hands around his mouth. "Make it go faster!"

"Yeah!" Harper whooped and Octavia's grin just widened, but it was enough to motivate Jasper into running what felt like a mile around in a circle to help it gain speed before jumping on himself.

"Oh my God," he panted, falling flat on his back in the middle of the rotating disk. "This thing is so heavy, especially with you giants on here."

"I'm a giant?" Monty snorted, obviously trying to be heard. Harper chuckled.

Twisting her leg around the bars, Octavia stood up and stretched her arms out. From his spot on the ground, Jasper couldn't see anything but the blue sky and clouds revolving around her as she stood freely against the wind. From the gentle smile on her face to the deep inhalations to the way her hair barely touched her face as they moved, Jasper could tell she was in a bliss.

And right now, while she was sweaty and covered in dirt, he couldn't think of a moment where she looked more beautiful.

…

Darkness came too early in Octavia's opinion.

The covers of darkness first started taking it's dim hold on the sky around nine and only continued to darken since then. Now at a quarter to ten, she knew that she was going to have to leave soon, even though the darkness called for to stay.

After the merry-go-round, Octavia and the others alternated between the different pieces of playground equipment, acting like they were kids again. At one point, they busted out Jasper's soccer ball and used it as a basketball on the blacktop. When Harper left about a half-hour after dark, the rest of them decided to settle down and enjoy each other's company.

Originally they had been sitting on the top of the monkey bars, but that soon grew to be uncomfortable so Monty suggested they chill out on the grass.

"Do you guys ever wonder what's out there?" Monty murmured suddenly.

Octavia turned to her right where Monty was lying. "What do you mean?" Jasper asked from her other side.

Monty sighed, keeping his eyes trained on the stars. "Do you think there's other life other than our planet? Or if there's something out there that could support human life?"

Octavia rolled on her side, waiting expectantly for Jasper's rebuttal. "Maybe," he said finally. She noticed how he kept his gaze on the sky intently as well.

"What about you, Octavia?" Monty's voice came from behind her.

Octavia returned to her initial position on her back. "I'm not really big into the whole science aspect behind the galaxy. I'm more into the history behind it."

Jasper pursed his lips. "Isn't history and science the same thing?"

Octavia laughed wistfully. "Not the history I'm thinking of."

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't done this in awhile," she started. "Watch the stars, I mean. I used to do it all the time with my brother when I was a bit younger. He's really into mythology and stuff so he would tell me the stories behind the constellations."

Octavia pointed up at what she distinctly knew as Orion but could be easily seen as a clump of stars. "That's the Hunter, Orion. He fell in love with the goddess Artemis, but she swore herself to eternal maidenhood. Apollo, Artemis's brother, was so furious that he shot and killed Orion on the day he was supposed to marry Artemis."

She pointed out another group of stars that could've easily been overlooked by the untrained eye. "And that's the constellation of Andromeda. She was a princess of Ethiopia who was doomed to being mauled by a sea monster after her parents pissed off Poseidon. But the demigod Perseus saved her on the condition that her parents let him marry her, which they agreed to but kind of forgot when it was all said and done. But Andromeda upheld her parents end of the bargain and married Perseus, so the goddess Athena put her in the stars as a reward."

"Wow," Jasper breathed. "That's really cool that you know those stories."

Octavia grinned, rubbing her palms against the grass. "I don't know nearly as many stories as Bellamy does. He's like a walking encyclopedia for Greek myths. He could probably recite an ancient story for how every star that's visible from earth came to be."

"He must be great at parties."

Octavia laughed out loud. "Yeah. One day, I want to be a legend in the stars. I want people to recount the epics of Octavia Blake every time they see a certain constellation."

"That's a lot cooler than asking about aliens," Monty conceded.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking in the cool atmosphere. It was the first time in a long while that Octavia genuinely felt at peace.

"Hey, look." Jasper nodded toward at red light that flashed in intervals as it crossed the inky blue sky. "Satellite."

Octavia shivered. "How could people ever voluntarily live in space?"

"I think it could be cool," Monty said. "Not forever, but it'd be cool to see the planet from a different angle."

"Not to me." She shifted her legs so that they were pulled up to her chest. "It sounds claustrophobic and restricting. No fresh air. No soccer. No pizza. Oh my God, no pizza." She faked a groan. "But especially no fresh air. I'd lose it in space. I need the freedom of the ground, ya know?"

"I understand that." Jasper smiled, tearing his eyes away from the sky.

For a minute, Octavia was tempted to lean over and kiss him. It didn't have to be big or extravagant; a quick kiss under the stars sounded perfect. She was already starting to lean in when her phone buzzed where it sat on her stomach, surprising everyone.

Jasper fell back in the grass, and if it weren't for the cover of darkness he probably would have been visibly red in the cheeks.

"Hello?" she answered as harshly as she could into the phone.

" _I'm in the parking lot outside of the Dairy Queen but it's closed. Where the hell are you?"_ Bellamy's voice came from the other end and Octavia didn't even stop her eyeroll.

"We're just down a block. At the elementary school."

" _You're not alone are you?"_

"Jasper and Monty are here with me."

" _Still?"_

"Yeah. Why wouldn't they be?"

" _I just assumed Clarke would—you know what? That's not important. Come to the sidewalk; I'm gonna pull over and get you."_

"See you in a minute." She hung up the phone. "That was Bellamy."

"We figured," Monty said. Jasper shot him a look, but Octavia figured that Monty couldn't even tell with how thick the dark was. "You want us to walk with you? It'd be safer."

Out of the corner of her eye, Octavia saw the headlights of a car pulling over to the side of the road. "No, that's okay. I see him now. Thanks for the offer though."

She stood up and Jasper quickly scrambled to his feet. His hair covered his eyes. "Well thanks for inviting us. I sure had fun."

"I did too," Octavia smiled. "I'm glad you guys could hang out for a little bit." She cupped Jasper's face and placed a kiss on his cheek. "See you guys on Monday!"

She snatched up her hoodie from the ground, then jogged to where Bellamy was waiting. "Hey, big brother," she greeted whilst climbing into the car.

Bellamy put the car into gear and pulled back out onto the road. "So how was it?"

"Told some Greek myths." She felt satisfied when his face perked into a smile. "I'm the life of the party."

"Well that's good, I guess. I don't know how I feel about you being the _life of a party_."

"Nothing bad happened. We were just eating ice cream and playing on the playground."

"It's not you I don't trust."

A slight rush of anger filled Octavia's stomach. "Jasper and Monty are good guys."

Bellamy's fists tightened on the steering wheel and his body tensed against his seat belt. "I don't know them, O, so I can't know that for sure."

"If you trust me, then why can't you trust that I'm making a good decision?"

"Because I know how some guys can be, O. I've hung out with people like that before and I don't like the idea of my little—"

"—please stop." Octavia slammed her fist against her lap. "I know you're just trying to protect me, but I can take care of myself."

Bellamy's tone remained calm even though his body was more tense than she had ever seen before. "You're still just a kid, Octavia."

"I'm only a year and a half younger, alright, Bellamy? I'm not some helpless little fifth grader who doesn't have friends on the playground anymore. I can take care of my damned self."

This time, Bellamy growled and his eyes flashed. "I can't demand that you respect me, but at least you could pretend you do."

Octavia gritted her teeth. "Fine, then. How was your student council meeting on Monday?"

She was still seething, and everything about her tone was sarcastic. At this point, she couldn't care less.

"It was fine, thanks for asking." Bellamy was just as pissed as she was. She could tell not only by the body language, but also by the fact that he almost bypassed the street that led into their subdivision. "I'm stuck being co-president with Clarke."

"Good," Octavia snarled. "Maybe she can teach you some manners."

"I'm pretty sure that she and Wells have enough etiquette for everyone," he snapped back. He pulled the car to a stop in their driveway and ripped the keys from the ignition.

"News flash, dipshit," Octavia climbed out of the car, "Clarke and Wells broke up." She watched as Bellamy's jaw slacked, then dropped.

She didn't wait for him to respond before slamming the car door in his face and then locking herself in her bedroom.

...

 **so this was mostly just a filler chapter, but we'll be getting to the main plot of the story within the next few chapters! finally !**

 **i hope the jasper/octavia fluff was good.**

 **what's you're favorite subplot so far?**

 **1/30/16**


	7. Sign Me Up

**Chapter Seven: Sign Me Up**

Bellamy spotted the blonde hair in the bleachers right away.

After his confrontation with Octavia, Bellamy had sat in the driveway for what felt like an eternity. It wasn't so much the news that she had given him that had been the blow to his pride, but rather the fact that she _thought_ it would upset him.

Who Clarke dated or didn't date was none of his business and he honestly could care less about her personal life. Octavia didn't rile him up, but instead just confirmed his suspicions.

In the end, Bellamy had called Miller and told him that he couldn't make it, then slumped up to his room.

Two days later before it was light on Sunday morning, he was forced to drive Octavia an hour out to an away game. Neither of them spoke a word to each other the entire drive there, though Bellamy quickly realized afterward that Octavia had been asleep most of the ride.

Now as he stood at the bottom of the bleachers, blanket around his shoulders and mug of coffee in hand, he stared up at Clarke sitting alone. He was tempted to find any spot away from her like he normally would, but instead stomped up the metal stairs until he was looming right over her.

Either she didn't notice him or she was deliberately ignoring him, because she didn't acknowledge his presence. "No Asian kid today?" he asked.

Clarke jumped, whipping her head in his direction. Bellamy made a mental note that she indeed had _not_ been purposefully ignoring him. "His names Monty," she replied sternly, but nothing about her tone seemed cold. "And no. He didn't come today."

"I don't blame him." Bellamy waved an arm at the field that was dimly lit by the morning glow of the rising sun. "It's not even light out yet and it's freezing." He looked down at his feet and wiggled toes which were visible in the socks and sandals he wore. "That and my socks are wet and I hate that."

Clarke cracked a grin. It dawned on Bellamy that he couldn't remember if he had made Clarke Griffin smile in his life. Like, _ever_. "That's what you get for not wearing sneakers." She pointed down at her sneakers that, quite frankly, looked way warmer than Bellamy's sandals.

He also noticed that she was slightly shivering and her nose was running. "And that," Bellamy pointed to her shaking form, "is what you get for wearing a spring jacket and not bringing a blanket."

Setting his coffee on the bench, he slipped his blanket off and draped it around Clarke's shoulders. Clarke knit her eyebrows together. "But-"

"I'm fine," Bellamy cut her off. He reclaimed his coffee and took a seat on the bench to the left of Clarke. "I wore a sweater thick enough to survive the Himalayas. I mostly just bring that to sit on because the benches are always freezing."

"Thanks, Bellamy." The word sound foreign coming from her, especially when it was being directed toward him. The last few minutes seemed to be full of new revelations. "Is this a One Direction blanket?" she asked suddenly, looking intently at the material.

When Bellamy met her gaze, she had a small smile on her face. He chuckled. "Yeah. Octavia was really into them a few years back." He leaned a tad closer, as if to tell a secret, and said, "Don't tell anyone, but she still has a shrine for Harry Styles in her closet."

"Wow." She shook her head as she chuckled, drawing the plush blanket up to her chin.

Bellamy glanced back down at the field, but nothing was happening. The other team hadn't even shown up yet which meant the Delinquents weren't in a rush to start warm-ups. Octavia was sitting on her soccer bag, staring at her phone. Most of the other kids, including Monroe Bellamy noticed, were curled up in lawn chairs trying to catch a few extra minutes of sleep. Even the coach looked a little out of it.

Then he saw Jasper motion to Octavia. She quickly bounded over to the empty chair he had been saving for her, then threw half of his blanket over her lap.

"No offense," Clarke said suddenly and Bellamy started. She had been so quiet he had nearly forgotten she was there. "But I don't think I really like the idea of my brother dating your sister."

"Well, no offense," he repeated, "but I don't really like the idea of my sister dating your brother."

"Will you look at that. I guess there is something that we can agree on."

Bellamy took a swig of his coffee and pulled his hood up in an attempt to keep his ears warmer. He contemplated bringing up how he was sorry about how things didn't work out with Wells, but it didn't seem like the right moment.

He couldn't remember a time where he and Clarke had been so civil...it felt kind of nice and Bellamy wasn't about to screw it up. Clarke might be a pain in the ass most of the time, but she did make decent company.

…

Wells was afraid that he'd lost her.

He supposed it was only a matter of time if he hadn't been able to get back in the ring to fight for her affection—after all, Clarke was a knock-out and anyone who didn't admit it was simply in denial. But he didn't think she'd get swept up by someone else so soon.

It'd been roughly two weeks since Wells's confrontation with Jasper and how he went back on how he said that he'd get Wells a list of activities Clarke was doing this year. He tried not to feel bitter about it, especially since he had stooped to the low and followed Clarke around to figure out what clubs she was in.

The joke had a double punchline because first Wells was rejected of receiving a list and then he wasted twelve hours snooping only to find out Clarke had only taken up student-council and debate.

It had also been two weeks since Clarke started hanging out with Finn Collins on a regular basis, something that Wells never could have foreseen. He'd walk her to her locker and they sat together at lunch. They never kissed or held hands, but always walked close enough to each other where their shoulders were always brushing.

It pained Wells to see her eyes light up with someone else. It was always supposed to be Wells who would sweep her up off of her feet and be the one to kiss away her problems when everything was falling apart.

Only this time it had been _him_ to make everything fall apart, and Finn was the one picking up the pieces.

Wells shoved the door open to the room where the student-council meeting was being held for that day. Everyone was already accounted for except for Clarke which was odd.

Bellamy, who had quickly adjusted to his role as co-president, stood behind the podium with Miller playing Hangman on the whiteboard.

"You guys really shouldn't be doing that," Wells warned as he sat down.

Bellamy capped his marked and turned around slowly. Miller leaned with his back pressed against the board. "Who died and made you the superintendent?" Bellamy challenged.

Wells folded his hands on his desk, keeping his calm composure. Obviously Bellamy was trying to get a rise out of him. "No one did. I'm just saying—"

"—you were just saying." Bellamy rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Last time I checked, you weren't one of the co-presidents of this coalition, Wells." He leveled his gaze on those who were also present. "Do any of you recall Wells being in charge?"

"I don't," Miller pitched in. No one else said anything.

Wells's nostrils flared. He wasn't going anywhere with this so he might as well just let it be. Bellamy was a coward so let him have his pitiful victory. He watched Bellamy's grin double in confidence as he whirled back around to finish up his game with Miller.

The next few minutes Wells played Scrabble on his phone, beating the computer players twice. He was about to start up a third round when the door swung open and Clarke walked in. Miller quickly slid back into his seat to the right of Bellamy's spot at the podium.

Wells was about to ask Clarke what had taken her so long when he noticed Finn trailing in behind her. His heart fell back into his chest.

"Sorry we're late, everyone," Clarke said, tone level as ever. She took her spot beside Bellamy at the podium while Finn sat the top of Harper's desk to Clarke's right. "It won't happen again. Okay—"

"Woah, woah, woah." Bellamy held his fist up to his forehead and for once Wells had to agree. "What's this?"

"I'm Finn." Finn turned up his palms as if confused on how to better introduce himself. "We have PE, lunch, and Euro. History together. Duh."

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "I know _who_ you are, Spacewalker."

" _Spacewalker_?" Wells repeated.

"That kid can do the moonwalk as good as Michael Jackson. The nickname stuck," Sterling explained in a hushed tone.

Both Clarke and Bellamy seemed to have ignored the interruption because their eyes were locked on each other's in a heated debate. "What's the problem, Bellamy?" Clarke asked, but her tone made it clear that she didn't care if there was a problem.

Bellamy snorted, resting his arm on the podium. "Earth to Princess? It's already the third meeting so he can't just _show up_ out of nowhere and _magically_ be on stu-co."

"Which is why I went and talked to Cartwig," Finn said, standing up. "She technically runs student council. I went with Clarke to talk to her and everything's fine. So don't be such a dick about it, Bellamy." He sat back down.

Clarke was holding back giggles and there was no denying the admiration in her eyes. Wells wanted to get as far away from that room as possible. He wanted to collect the shattered pieces of his heart and just melt away forever.

Finn had scooped up the one girl Wells had ever loved, and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

…

Clarke shared a smile with Finn before clearing her throat.

Bellamy was still muttering about how it wasn't fair that "Spacewalker" could just waltz right into student council like he owned the place. It was actually rather annoying and it made Clarke wonder how she was ever able to hold actual conversations with him.

"I think the first order of business would be to tell everyone about the quiz-tournament," Finn suggested, turning to Clarke for approval.

She nodded, but Bellamy butt in, "So now he's calling the shots too?"

"He was just making a suggestion, Bellamy." Clarke, surprised by his voice, turned to where Wells was slouched in his chair. Not that she cared, but he looked like his appendix burst.

Bellamy rolled his eyes with a scoff, but stayed quiet.

Clarke glanced over at Finn who shrugged. Clearing her throat, Clarke said, "Now if Bellamy is done throwing his temper tantrum—" she looked to Bellamy and he rolled his eyes as a confirmation that he wouldn't interrupt— "then we have some other business to discuss."

She produced a crumpled piece of paper from her jacket pocket and smoothed it out on the podium top. From off to the side, she felt Bellamy leaning closer to her in order to read over her shoulder. "It turns out that Miss Cartwig was going to be coming down here to bring us our latest project. Since I went to talk to her with Finn, she just gave it to me then."

"So what's this new project?" Miller asked.

"We have to put together a Quiz Bowl," Clarke said. Groans erupted around the room, a sound that she had grown accustomed too over the last few years. "Guys, it won't be that bad."

"But we're already planning homecoming," Fox grumbled under her breath.

"We don't need to organize the event," Finn clarified. "We just need to advertise around the school and put a team together and then they go to the actual event."

"What happens if we can't put a team together?" Harper raised an eyebrow.

"That's the catch," Clarked answered calmly. "If we don't have a team in time for the first tournament, then _we_ have to do it."

Cue more groans. Sometimes Clarke wondered why she put up with student-council; she felt like she was babysitting a group of children.

"We have a month deadline," Finn addressed the room, jumping to the floor. "That means we have four weeks to put a team together. If you guys actually try putting some effort into it, then we'll have a chance."

"Finn's right," Clarke nodded. She met every cold gaze in the room (except for Wells who still looked like he had chest pains.) "We have a lot to do between homecoming and this Quiz Bowl so we have to make sure to put our effort into everything we do if we want to meet our deadlines."

"But I have soccer to worry about too," Sterling mumbled. "I don't want to have to worry about being forced to do a Quiz Bowl."

"Then I'd suggest that you start recruiting as soon as possible," Bellamy snapped sternly. "You're a part of this group and you can't just cop out of it because you don't want to. We're all in this together, so if we go down, we're taking you with us."

Finn pursed his lips.

Turning back to the circle, Clarke asked, "Now who has ideas on how to campaign this thing?"

...

"Jasper?"

Jasper stared at the flyer, a lopsided grin forming across his cheeks. This could be what he needed.

"Jasper?"

And extra security measure to make sure he got into the science-tech school that he wanted.

"Jasper."

Without thinking it through, he ripped the paper from where it was taped to the wall. Nearly tripping over his own feet as he ran, he yelled back, "Sorry, Octavia! I'll talk to you later!"

He bolted down the hallway, down a flight of stairs, and wove through another congested hallway. He didn't stop until he reached Monty's locker. When he wasn't there, Jasper pressed his back to the metal and slid down until he was crouching on the floor.

He hadn't been sitting there for two minutes before a shadow loomed over him and a familiar voice said, "You look winded."

Jasper peered up through his dark curls. Monty was leaning with his shoulder on the lockers and his bookbag hung from his side. "Dude," Jasper gasped, still tired from his breakneck sprinting, "check this out."

Monty snatched up the flyer from Jasper's extended grip, eyes focusing on the words. He made several facial expressions as he read, and Jasper wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. When he finished reading, he dropped the paper back into Jasper's lap. "I don't know dude," he said after a minute.

"Oh come one, Monty!" Jasper climbed to his feet and firmly placed his hands on his best friend's shoulders. "We could do this! You're a genius at techy stuff and I'm badass at chemistry. We could build a robot so great that there's no way that we could lose."

"Let me see that again." He grabbed the paper and scanned it for a moment. "You do realize that it's an actual competition, right?" Monty pointed to the words on the document.

Jasper brushed it off easily. "That's what makes it better."

"There are competition days though. We have to make it to regionals, semi-finals, and then _the_ finals. Are you sure you'd want to do that and balance it with soccer?"

"I can handle it. I take it you missed that very important part at the bottom though." Jasper snatched the flyer back and pointed out a box in the bottom left hand corner.

Monty's jaw dropped. "Ten thousand dollars for award cash _and_ scholarship money?"

Jasper nodded his head, leaning back against the lockers with a wry grin. "We could do it. Imagine it. Harper wouldn't be able to shoot you down."

Monty shot him a disapproving glare, but Jasper could already see the gears in Monty's head spinning. His walls were coming down and was already figuring out a battle plan. "Today's the last day to register."

"I know," Jasper grinned. "So are you in?"

Monty released an extensive groan before turning on his heel. "Come on," he called over his shoulder, "we've got to get to the office and sign up before school ends."

Jasper jogged after Monty, swinging his arm around his shoulder. "You're going to do it?"

"Don't make me regret this."

...

how's it going everyone?

2/8/16


	8. Moving Up the Totem Pole

**Chapter Eight: Moving Up the Totem Pole**

"So what did you two do in school today?"

Clarke looked up from her phone which she had concealed in her lap. Her mother had her elbows on the table, hands laced together expectantly. Clarke set her fork down on her plate as she slowly chewed the hunk of steak that had been setting in her cheek. "Not much."

Abby rolled her eyes while Marcus stifled a chuckle. "Something interesting must have happened," she insisted.

Clarke looked to Jasper for help, her eyes warning him to speak up instead of her. He shook his head and Clarke's features stiffened threateningly; she didn't want to engage in conversation so as far as she was concerned, he should take one for the team this time.

She was perfectly aware of the exasperated expressions of her mother and Marcus as they watched them, but she was more focused on getting Jasper to say something. Every time she silently scolded him, he'd shake his head violently and then fork mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"Jasper," Marcus said after what must've been a minute of silent glaring, "anything new in school?"

Clarke grinned, satisfied that she didn't have to answer. Jasper sat up a bit straighter in his chair. "I signed up for a robotics tournament with Monty. Prize is ten G's plus college scholarships," he said proudly.

"That's great, sweetie." Clarke watched her mom's eyes light up in delight. "What kind of project are you and Monty planning on making?"

Jasper shrugged. "Not sure yet. I think Monty is drawing up some ideas tonight."

"Well that's great, Jasper." Marcus turned toward Clarke, a twinkle in his eyes. "And what're you doing in student council, Clarke? Anything interesting?"

Clarke clutched her phone in her lap, forcing herself to ignore the text messages waiting to be read. "Um, we have to finish planning homecoming and our next project is putting together a Quiz Bowl team to compete for the school."

Marcus grinned brightly and Clarke tried for a small smile. She had always had a rocky relationship with Marcus—the divorce between her parents had been hard enough on her, but when her mom started dating again Clarke didn't want anything to do with Marcus or Jasper.

In the years since, she'd gotten used to Marcus being around and grew to develope a strong affection for Jasper. Even though she made it very clear that she didn't hold a grudge against Marcus anymore, he still continued to try hard to win her over.

He always made sure her favorite cereal was in the house, he made Jasper do the majority of the chores around the house, and he tried to take an interest in her career choice as a doctor. Not that she was complaining about having an endless supply of _Special K_ , but Clarke wished he didn't try so hard all of the time.

"Quiz Bowl?" Jasper asked around a bite of steak. "What's that? A bowling game?"

Abby said, "It's an academic-type tournament."

"So it's like Jeopardy?"

"Very similar."

Clarke's leg vibrated suddenly and she tuned out of the conversation to read the last few texts that had come through.

6:32pm.

 _haha i don't know about that._

Finn.

6:45pm.

 _Clarke? You still there?_

Finn.

6:49pm.

 _Did you do the math hw?_

Harper.

6:53

 _I'll be there in five._

Finn.

A breath caught in Clarke's throat as a small smile settled across her face...then it faded as she heard the doorbell ring. He was here already?

"Who could that be?" Abby mumbled to herself, but before she could even push her chair back, Clarke was already standing up.

"That's for me," she said, slipping her phone into her back pocket. She hoped jeans and a sweatshirt qualified for whatever Finn had in mind because she didn't have any time to prepare.

"Who are you going out with?" Marcus steepled his fingers together.

"Finn. You know, my history project partner."

Jasper's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't say anything further which Clarke was grateful for. Last thing she needed was for Jasper to get a big mouth and tattle on her.

By habit, she grabbed her wallet and keys on her way to the door so she slid them into her sweatshirt pocket. "I'll be home in a few hours."

"Back by ten," Abby's voice called from the kitchen before she materialized at the kitchen doorway.

"Okay, fine." She finished slipping her shoes on, then flung the door open. Finn looked casual, almost more casual than she did which was reassuring. Maybe they were just going on a drive. That'd be a nice surprise. "Hey."

"Hey," Finn smiled. "You ready to go?" He stepped down the porch steps, leading the way to his truck parked in the driveway.

Clarke closed the door behind her, then jogged after Finn to keep up. He was already in the driver's seat by the time she reached the passenger's door. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

Finn started up the engine, and pulled out on the road in the general direction of the high school. She hoped he wasn't taking her on a walk around campus. "You were probably just eating dinner," he commented, drawing Clarke's attention from the window, "but did you wanna stop and get something? Coffee maybe?"

Clarke rested her hand over her stomach; she'd eaten quite a bit back at home and she was feeling pretty content as it was. Coffee didn't sound like it would settle well at the moment either. "No, I'm good. Thanks, though."

Finn raised his eyebrows, casting her a playful smile from his seat. "Are you sure?"

Clarke forced down her blush. "Yeah, Finn. I'm fine."

"O-kay," he laughed, dragging out the first syllable.

"So you've got me all curious. Where are you taking me?" Clarke sat forward in her seat.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Yes, I would."

"I guess you'll have to wait and see."

…

Bellamy stared down at his blank notebook sheet.

He was fully aware that staring at it intensely wasn't going to write his essay for him and that he should get to work, but he just couldn't bring himself to picking up his pencil. He was tired, irritated at life in general, and his two best friends and little sister were being obnoxious in the same room.

"Can you turn that down?" Bellamy hissed from the table. Murphy, Miller, and Octavia all had Wii remotes in hand and were doing their best to follow along to the dance mannequin on the screen.

"No can-do big bro," Octavia answered in a singsong tone that matched the harmonies of Lady Gaga's _Born This Way_.

"She's right," Miller huffed, sounding out of breath as he tried to match dance moves. "We've got a five dollar bet going right now and Murphy is kicking our asses."

Bellamy's eyebrows shot up. "Murphy?" he asked incredulously. "He's beating you guys at your own game?" Sure enough, when he glanced up at the TV, Murphy was scoring nearly all 'perfects' while Octavia and Miller struggled to get 'okays.'

"Can it Bellamy," Murphy growled, but his threat came off as barely intimidating since he was mid-dance move that reminded Bellamy of a child pretending to be a pony.

"Can't you guys be quieter? I'm trying to write a paper."

"It's a Friday night," Octavia said, "live a little."

"No it's not," Miller huffed. "It's Monday, O."

"Live everyday like it's a Friday night," she amended.

"Getting wasted every day doesn't sound so bad…" Murphy mumbled.

"Hey," Bellamy grunted sternly, "impressionable seventeen year old is present."

Murphy rolled his eyes, but fortunately enough Octavia had been too distracted by the TV and her score catching up to Murphy's to even bother herself with chit-chat.

He looked down to his notebook paper that was empty except for a few doodles of spears, shields, and Greek warrior helmets. He always found the ancient Greeks and Romans interesting, even so far as reading the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_ on more than one occasion.

Maybe he could write his English paper on them...all he had to do was compare and contrast two topics using the essay structure they reviewed in class.

With a new vigor, Bellamy started brainstorming everything he knew about each civilization. He only stopped once when Octavia broke out in an excited cheer, telling him that she managed to whoop Murphy in _Just Dance_ at the very end.

…

Clarke would admit, she was very surprised when Finn parked the truck in the parking lot of Trikru Union.

Of all places, it would never had occurred to her that Finn might take her to one of the biggest rivaling high schools to West Arke. She knew he went there for the previous few years, but he seemed hardly the sentimental type.

The door on Clarke's side of the truck jerked open, making her jump. Finn had a chipper smile on his face, but she was still too startled to even think about how attractive he looked. She hadn't even noticed him slip out of the car so she needed to put her observations pants on.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, staring up at the ancient looking building. Other than Mount Weather, Trikru Union was the oldest building in the district so the big, ominous windows and brick features were a bit unsettling.

Finn glanced up at the building and then shook it off. "We're not here for that." He nodded toward a faint path leading into the woods. "That's where we're going."

Even though every instinct in her told Clarke that this was a bad idea and to run, she still found herself keeping pace with Finn as they approached the woods. "You're not planning on killing me and making a human sacrifice are you?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"The thought did cross my mind," he conceded in an equally joking tone. Clarke watched as his composure broke and a smile overtook his face again. Then she felt something intertwining with her fingers only to find he had slipped his hand into hers.

He led her down the path about twenty-feet where the trees thinned out into a small flat field full of blue, iridescent flowers. "Woah," she breathed, leaning in close to one of the flowers. "This thing is actually glowing."

Finn fell to his knees beside her, so close that they were touching. "Yeah. Pretty neat, right?"

"These have to be toxic with, like, radiation or something. How else would this happen?"

"I've looked 'em up, actually," Finn said, crouching his face ever closer to the blue petals. "They're a predatory plant from Brazil and the iridescence helps them catch their food. They smell really nice too, but don't eat them. They're also poisonous to the human body unless bitten by a specific breed of Brazilian anaconda. In that case, it's the antidote."

"Invasive species?" she asked slowly.

Finn nodded. "More likely than not. How plants that traditionally survive in the humid Brazilian climate are growing in eastern New Jersey is beyond me though."

Clarke sat back on her heels, watching the boy before her with new eyes. She had always thought of him as a delinquent when he first started going to school with her, but then this project ordeal had given her the chance to glimpse his softer, more strategic attitude on things.

And here he was again, keeping her on her toes with glowing plants and information to actually back up his findings. It was a turn on if she was being honest with herself.

Everything about him was just so immensely attractive, she just wasn't able to fight her feelings for him anymore. Clarke Griffin had a ginormous crush on Finn Collins and she was about ready to scream it to the world.

Fortunately, Finn caught her soft stare and his eyes fell to her lips. He leaned in closer to her, and Clarke eagerly followed suit until they were sitting with their noses brushing each other's cheeks and their lips less than an inch apart.

"Clarke?" His voice was husky.

"Stop talking," she whispered, and then closed the gap between them herself.

...

 **some flarke on valentines day, but don't worry. things are about to get a bit (or alot) more complicated**

 **2/14/16**


	9. Tall Glass of Handsome

**Chapter Nine: Poor Me a Glass of Tall and Handsome**

Clarke put on as big of a smile as she could muster without it looking totally fake.

"Hi," she stepped in front of the petite brunette heading towards the stairs. "Student Council is putting together a Quiz Bowl team to represent the school. Looks great on a college application." She held one of the flyers from the stack under her arm out to the girl.

The brunette smiled, pink tinge to her cheeks from nervousness. "Um, no thanks," she answered shortly, pushing the paper away.

Clarke took another step in front of her as she tried to make her escape. "It's a great way to make friends and, like I said, great for college applications."

The girl shook her head and dropped the smile, making her look less friendly. "I'm not interested so please leave me alone."

Clarke pursed her lips and watched as the girl walked off briskly, taking the stairs two at a time. Wheeling back around, she saw that Bellamy was sitting on the bottom most step with his stack of flyers beside him while Finn leaned against the railing. "Your method seems to be falling short, Princess," Bellamy quipped.

Clarke scowled, but didn't argue with him because she knew he was right. When no one offered any ideas on how to convince people to join the Quiz Bowl team, she decided the best course of action was to make flyers and simply spread the news about the event around the school.

She had recruited Finn and Bellamy to help pass out flyers with her that morning before school started (with much protesting from Bellamy) but it ended up being a bust and a waste of paper. At least five hundred kids had walked past them to get to the school within the half-hour they had been camped out at the steps and they still had most of the flyers Clarke had printed out the night before.

"Twenty dollars to print out two hundred copies and we've only given out six lousy flyers?" Clarke collapsed on the base step with a huff. She didn't even bother hiding her scowl when Bellamy raised an eyebrow.

"Geez, Princess," he muttered dryly, "I don't think I've ever seen you this bent out of shape before." Clarke gave him a hard look. "Over something so trivial at least," he amended.

"Think on the brightside." Finn set his stack on the ground and took a seat next to Clarke on the step. "We got six people to at least consider joining which is a start."

"Negatory," Bellamy murmured under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Finn asked, and Clarke picked up on the slight accusation in his tone.

Bellamy shrugged. "I saw one kid throw his away immediately after Spacewalker walked away and the redhead Clarke was talking too used hers as a napkin after she accidentally spilled her coffee on her skirt."

Clarke groaned, arching her back as she buried her face into her knees. "Well that's great. We're worse off than we thought." She felt someone's hand resting on the small of her back comfortingly.

"Don't waste time pitying us, Clarke," Bellamy said. The touch on Clarke's back tensed and she could imagine Finn shooting daggers at Bellamy.

"Not much luck today, huh?" Jasper's voice filled her ears.

Clarke finally looked up to see her brother and Octavia standing a little too close together for Clarke's liking. "You could say that," Bellamy grumbled, setting his face into his hands.

Octavia chuckled softly. "What's the matter, Bell? Giving up so easily?"

Bellamy rolled his eyes but said nothing. Jasper furrowed his eyebrows. "How long until your deadline again?" he asked.

"Four weeks," Finn answered. "Which is actually a lot of time when you think about it."

Clarke sat up straighter, eyeing Jasper's twitching hand. "So," she motioned between Jasper and Octavia, "are you two like a "thing" now?"

Bellamy perked up slightly, his gaze taking on a playful sneer. Jasper stepped away frantically from Octavia, giving her about a foot berth, but she just sidled up next to him again. "We're just friends," Jasper sputtered, face turning red.

Clarke shared a look with Bellamy. "But so what if we were?" Octavia said, putting her hands on her hips. "Just because you two can't stand each other doesn't mean that we can't get along. Come on, Jasper." She grabbed him by the upper arm and hauled him up the stairs with her.

Finn let off a low whistle. "Wow. So they're a thing?"

Clarke rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but I don't approve."

"Yeah. I don't either," Bellamy agreed.

"The one thing we can actually agree on." Clarke looked down at her phone for the time and a sudden jolt of panic washed through her as she realized how late it had gotten. "Oh great. I was supposed to meet up with Harper and Monroe ten minutes ago for homecoming stuff. I got to go."

Finn got to his feet and took Clarke's hand in his, helping up. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll see you later." He cupped her cheek in his hand and kissed her softly.

Clarke smiled against his lips, and if it were up to her, she wouldn't leave. She felt safe and loved when she was with Finn, something that she had been missing ever since her dad moved across the country.

Bellamy cleared his throat, forcing Clarke to focus back on reality. She had to help Harper. She broke the kiss and smiled up at Finn who was beaming down at her. "We're still on for later, right?."

Finn poked her on the nose playfully. "Wouldn't miss it."

Scooping up her pile of flyers and slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder, Clarke bolted up the stairs in the direction of the library.

…

Solar power would be the best source of energy for their robot. The only problem now was finding a solar panel small enough and cheap enough for them to afford.

Monty tapped the butt of his pencil against his cheek. He had quickly devoured his lunch he'd brought from home before making his way to the library where he and Jasper had agreed to meet at. Their plan had been to spend every free period in school together so they could work on designing their robot.

So far, Jasper hadn't shown up yet and wasn't responding to Monty's texts, but Monty wasn't worried yet. Their lunch hour was a little over an hour and close to fifty minutes still remained. He figured Jasper was off with Octavia, romancing her near the smelly locker rooms or something.

Less than ten minutes later, Monty's phone buzzed with a text.

 **12:37pm.**

 _Hey, buddy, im sorry but i won't make it to the library today._

 _I totally forgot that i promised Octavia that i'd watch her rehearsal for her play._

 _i promise that i'll make it up to you!_

Jasper

"Of course." Monty rested his head on the table with a sigh. Half an hour of genius robotic designs and he doesn't even get to tell Jasper about it.

He glanced up at the clock. There was still another half hour of lunch left. He could swing by the cafeteria and see what Clarke and her new boyfriend were up too.

Monty quickly packed up his notebooks and headed for the cafeteria, hoping that no one would give him a hard time for being in the halls without a pass while classes were going on. He spotted Clarke in her usual spot right away along with Finn, Harper, Miller, Bellamy, and...Wells?

Monty did a double take. It was hard enough picturing Clarke willfully sitting with Miller and Bellamy, but his brain was doing cartwheels at the sight of Wells. What was _he_ doing there?

He was about ready to turn around and resolve to asking Clarke about it in private at some other time, but it was too late. She had already spotted him and was giving him a welcoming grin that pulled him to the table.

"Hey, Monty," Clarke said.

Monty waved awkwardly. "Hey, Clarke. Bellamy." His eyes zeroed in on Wells. "Wells," he said, and his tone took on a colder tint. Wells shifted uncomfortably.

Clarke cleared her throat. "Monty, this is Finn," she introduced, touching Finn's shoulder gingerly. Monty noticed Wells shift again and how he kept his eyes averted.

Finn held his hand out and Monty shook it. "Hey," Finn smiled.

"Okay, introductions aside," Bellamy glanced down at Harper, "move over a smidge so he can sit."

Harper complied and before Monty knew it, he was sandwiched between Bellamy and Miller. Clarke regarded Monty suspiciously. "So what's up, Monty? I thought you and Jasper were supposed to be working on your robotics thing during lunch."

Miller raised his eyebrows, impressed. "You're doing the robotics competition?" Monty nodded. "That's pretty cool dude."

"Thanks," Monty grunted. He realized that he sounded less than enthusiastic but his frustration was overwhelming him. "And yeah, I was supposed to be working with Jasper but he skipped out on me."

"I'd say you're a little short of pleased," Finn commented.

"It's just that _he_ signed us up for this, you know," Monty looked around the table at each individual face, "and now he's blowing _me_ off. Jasper hasn't done one thing for this project and it's already been four days. The first competition day is in four weeks!"

Clarke shook her head, frowning. "I'll talk to him. And if he does it again, just give him a good kick in the ass for me."

Monty grinned while the rest of the people at the table chuckled. It felt good to sit with Clarke again; he'd been so wrapped up in helping Jasper win over Octavia that Monty hadn't seen her a whole lot in the last few weeks.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Finn said. He chased a grape tomato around his bowl for a few seconds and then set his fork down. "But we have to figure out a way to get people to sign up for the Quiz Bowl."

"Don't remind me," Harper grumbled.

"What are you talking about?" Monty asked.

"It's the latest student council project," Wells explained. Monty regarded him curiously while trying to maintain his mild glare. "We have to put together a Quiz Bowl team otherwise we'll have to do it."

"Oh," Monty nodded, "no wonder you're all sitting together."

Miller frowned, eyebrows scrunched together. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Monty shrugged. "Well this isn't the traditional group."

Clarke nodded slowly. "True. The arrangement is a bit less than desired." Her eyes flicked to Wells, but Monty noticed that she didn't have the anger in her eyes that he was used to seeing whenever she looked at Wells. In fact, she looked mildly annoyed more than anything. It made him wonder what changed.

Then he glanced over at Clarke who was leaning into Finn and suddenly it made sense. Clarke would never have the same bond with Wells that she once had, but now that she was happy with Finn, there wasn't the same drive to constantly hate Wells. She might not be great friends with him anymore, but there was still forgiveness.

"So this Quiz Bowl thing; what're you gonna do about it?"

Bellamy looked to Clarke who sighed. "At this point," she said, "we have no idea."

…

The barista was taking forever, but Octavia didn't mind the wait.

The extra few minutes in line while she waited gave her enough time to check up on her virtual pets that she had been neglecting ever since soccer started. When she re-logged into the app, her dalmatian puppy's health bar had been on 12% and her tiger cub had had grown into an adult tiger.

She was right in the middle of giving Lorenzo, her puppy, a bath when the curly haired guy behind the counter came back with her hot chocolate. "O?" he called out uncertainly.

"That's me!" Octavia shoved her phone into her pocket and jumped up to the counter. "Thank you," she smiled at the boy.

He smiled, running a hand through his hair self-consciously. "You go by O?"

"It's just something my brother calls me. I'm Octavia."

"Theo."

"Well, it was nice talking to you."

Octavia hurried out of the café and started at a brisk pace down the cobblestone sidewalk. After school she was supposed to have meet up with Fox to study for a upcoming chemistry test, but she called and canceled almost fifteen minutes after Octavia had been waiting. In the end, she resolved to grabbing something to drink and then head over to Jasper's house to help him and Monty with their robotics.

Octavia approached a group of boys as she walked, all of which who had Trikru Union T-shirts and varsity jackets on. She didn't want to go near them, but it was the only way to her car so she kept her head down as she walked.

"Hey there, beautiful," one of them cat-called.

Octavia ignored him and kept walking, but this was exactly what she was hoping to avoid.

"Baby, come back!" a different voice pleaded.

There was a wave of footsteps and then their voices became significantly louder as they continued to call for her attention. The bastards were following her!

"Leave me alone!" she snapped, refusing to turn around.

"Oh honey, don't be like that."

Something clasped around her wrist and suddenly Octavia was facing a burly jock with a buzz cut and crooked nose, probably from being broken repeatedly. "You had better let me go," she growled. She tried to pry her arm away but his grip was too strong.

The boy chuckled and his friends egged him on by laughing with him. "Look hot-stuff, I don't want to cause a scene; I'm actually a pretty decent guy once you get to know."

"Oh good. Then you won't mind letting me go if you're such a nice guy."

"I'll let you go as soon as you agree to go out on a date with me."

"Um, let me think about that: no."

"Babe, I'm not letting you go until you agree to one date with me."

"Come on," one of the others whispered in her ear, "just one date."

"Unless you'd rather go out with me," a freckled kid in the back raised his eyebrows, probably trying to be seductive but Octavia found him goofy.

"I'm not interested," she spat. "Now let me go before I start screaming."

The boy's smirk deepened. "You're making this harder than一"

"Let her go, Eric," a new voice demanded. It was soft but stern.

Octavia turned to find an attractive African American boy standing at the back of the group of boys. They all parted like the Red Sea when they heard his voice, giving her a better look; he was tall and she could tell that he was muscular under his shirt.

The boy, Eric, stepped in front of Octavia but kept his grip on her wrist. "What are you doing here, Lincoln?"

Lincoln shrugged, nonchalantly stuffing his fists into his pockets. "I was on my way to my car when I saw you four bastards harassing this girl and decided to do something about it."

"We weren't harassing her," one of the boys said.

"Yes you are." Octavia held up her arm to show the meaty hand still firmly clasped to her wrist. "And I'd appreciate if you would let go of me, you big oaf."

Completely ignoring Lincoln, Eric wheeled around to stared down Octavia with hard eyes and a tight-lipped frown. "You're really beginning to wear on me, sweetheart."

"Don't worry," she smiled bitterly, "my bite is way worse than my bark."

"Let her go, Eric," Lincoln warned again. "I don't feel like hurting you today."

"I'd like to see you try." Eric dropped her wrist and then suddenly he was on the ground, catching blood in his nose with Lincoln standing over him. His friends had backed up significantly, fear in their faces. "Oh my God!" he howled.

Lincoln shook his fist. "I told you to leave her alone, bro."

Octavia couldn't believe that the kid went down so easily. All it took was one punch. Her eyes fell on her savior and her heart skipped a beat. He was really hot. "Thank you."

His eyes fell to the guy on the floor and then back up to her face. "Walk you to your car?"

Octavia nodded vigorously. "Yes, please." Lincoln stepped over Eric, falling into step with Octavia as they walked. "Thanks again."

"It was no problem."

Up close, she was able to admire just how tall he was; he had to be at least a foot taller and his arms were larger than both of her hands put together. How had she been lucky enough for a handsome guy like this to come to her rescue? "I'm Octavia by the way."

"Lincoln."

"I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?"

"Nah. I go to Trikru Union with those assholes unfortunately."

"Trikru, huh? I go to West Arke. You guys have a good soccer team."

Lincoln chuckled. "That's good to hear. I wouldn't know though. I don't do sports." Octavia's eyes widened in surprise and he laughed. "What?"

"You just seem so...built. You're sure you're not a pro-football player or something?"

"Just some martial arts."

She regarded him with a newfound interest. "So that's how you Judo-flipped that guy."

"Karate, but yeah. Martial arts is a good way to stay in shape both mentally and physically."

"That's really cool." Octavia stopped in front of her car even though she would have prefered to keep walking with Lincoln. "This is my car."

Lincoln smiled, brushing a wisp of hair behind her ear and Octavia's heart nearly stopped. Never had a boy had such an impact on her feelings, not even Jasper. "Well, I'm glad I was able to help out, Octavia." He let his arm fall to his side. "I'll see you around, I guess."

He turned to leave, but Octavia lunged for his hand. "Wait." He stopped and his eyes met hers. "Would you maybe, I don't know, wanna grab some food with me? I'd love to talk more about martial arts."

Lincoln grinned. "Sure."

...

 **currently unedited so sorry about that. I'll fix it but i wanted to post again.**

 **Lincoln is in this now! it only took nine chapters lol but more is yet to come**

 **2/21/16**


	10. A Little Bird Told Me

**Chapter Ten: A Little Bird Told Me**

"I know I've asked like, a billion times, but when are you coming to visit?" Clarke fell backward onto her bed, awaiting the vague response she knew that she was going to receive.

" _As soon as I settle into the new house more,"_ her father's voice answered over the phone.

"That's what you always say. It's already been close to four months since I last saw you."

Ever since the move, Clarke and her dad had made it a habit to have at least an hour long phone call once a week to catch each other up on what's been happening on either end of the country. They used to talk everyday, but ever since the dreaded Quiz Bowl had been dumped into her lap, Clarke had been finding it harder to find time to dedicate to her dad.

The only reason she was able to make the call now was because she was all ready for her date with Finn, but he texted her saying he was running about fifteen minutes late so she had decided to give her dad a buzz. She was relieved when he had picked up after the second ring, but it just felt nice to hear his voice again.

" _I know kiddo, but the house isn't even situated yet. I still have boxes piled higher than the Hoover Dam."_

Clarke chuckled. "Mom always was the more organized one, huh?"

This time she heard him laugh on the other end, giving Clarke satisfaction that she was able to bring a smile to his face. _"That she is. She'd of had this place looking like a palace by now."_

"You should still come out, even if it is a mess out there."

" _I think_ you _should come out here. California sun and warm weather—we could go surfing or something."_

"It does sound tempting," she lied, rolling over onto her stomach. For as much as she enjoyed the warm weather, the thought of prancing around in California was less than appealing. Maybe it was because she was still angry about the move, but even if it was, she didn't care. She wanted her dad back in New Jersey, living in the house on the corner that she grew up in. "Maybe during Christmas—if you're able to get your house finalized by that time."

She was clearly kidding, which was what made it funny. Her dad laughed again while Clarke bit back a smile. _"So how's Jasper and your mom been?"_ he changed the subject.

Clarke rolled her eyes; he knew they would dwell on the topic of visitation for hours unless he dodged the bullet. "Mom's good. She's been working a couple of double shifts in attempt to to get that promotion. And Jasper signed up for a robotics thing with Monty."

" _Very cool. I'm proud of your mom. And Jasper and Monty working on a robot together? Is that really the best idea when something could easily explode with those two together?"_ he sounded genuinely concerned which was funny enough that Clarke had to stifle a laugh.

"Well, neither of them have blown anything up yet so far this year, so that's good," she replied, still grinning.

" _If you say so."_ Clarke could hear the smile in his tone even if they were three-thousand miles apart. _"How's Wells?"_

The question made Clarke stop and suddenly her blood boiled. Why was he even asking about Wells? He knew that she had dumped him; besides, Wells was the reason that her dad was in California looking for a job! She might have forgiven Wells for being her ex boyfriend, but she hadn't forgiven him for what he had done.

She wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to.

"Uh, yeah, he's okay. Straight A's and whatnot probably," she said. Her tone came off as more icy than she intended. "But we don't really talk anymore except for student council."

" _You're going to have to forgive him sooner or later, kiddo,"_ he responded.

"Maybe, but I'm—"

"Clarke!" Jasper's voice called on the other side of her door followed by a fierce pounding. "Finn's waiting for you downstairs!"

In a rush, Clarke jumped up from her bed and slid into her flip-flops. "Hey, dad? My friend just got here and we're going out for dinner so can I call you back later?"

" _You're not just strategically copping out of this conversation because you don't want to talk about Wells are you?"_

The accusation was ridiculous because even though she despised talking about Wells, she wouldn't have made-up an excuse to not talk about him. She'd just lay it out like it was and get it over with. "No, Dad, I promise that my friend is here. Jasper is the one who came in and told me."

" _I was just teasing you, squirt. Have fun and be safe. Love you."_

"Love you too, Dad." She hung up and then hurried down the stairs two at a time. She expected Finn to be chilling in the living room, but instead found Jasper and Octavia playing Wii on the TV. "Where's Finn?"

"Is he in the kitchen? Does he have a pumpkin?" Jasper recited in a sing-song tone that Clarke recognized from an old cartoon he used to watch.

"Knock it off. Where is he?"

Octavia broke her gaze away from the TV. "I'm pretty sure he was waiting out on the porch for you." She turned back to the TV.

Clarke turned to the door, but paused with her hand on the doorknob. "Jasper, where's Monty?"

Jasper shrugged, keeping his eyes trained on his character. "I invited him over but he said he was busy."

Busy working on the robot that you should be helping him with, Clarke thought. She would have called him out on it right then and there, but Octavia was over and Finn was waiting and something told Clarke that the conversation with Jasper would be longer than a few minutes. She'd just reprimand him when she got home.

"I'll be back later." She stepped out on the porch. Finn was sitting on the top step, so she sat next to him. "Hey."

Suddenly he was holding a bouquet of pink roses and a shy smile adorned his face. "I was hoping you'd come out soon. I was afraid they would be all wilted by the time you finally showed."

Clarke shouldered into him softly but accepted the flowers with a smile. Her cheeks probably matched the shade of the flowers and that was a little unsettling in her opinion. "What're these for?"

Finn shrugged. "Attempt at being romantic. Did it work?"

Clarke grinned. "Maybe. I'm interested to see what else you have up your sleeve."

"I hope the night ends up being to your standards." He helped her to her feet.

Before she knew it, they were in his truck heading into down. They drove past their school and after a few other turns, Clarke recognized the route they were on as the same one they used when they had gone into the woods behind Trikru Union.

There was another few minutes full of jokes and music blaring and then Finn pulled into a decent sized pizza place. "Pizza?" Clarke asked incredulously. She tried not to sound disappointed.

"Not just any pizza place," Finn wagged his finger in her face teasingly. She was tempted to bite his hand, just to see the reaction she'd get out of him. "Give it a chance, Clarke. It's a pretty cool place."

The inside wasn't at all what she expected. The restaurant seemed to be split up into three sections; the largest region was on the far left and housed a large collection of tables and booths around the perimeter. The far right was set up with a bar, a pool table, and several flat screen TVs showcasing a variety of sports. The smallest section was in the far back and had an arcade and a play area like they have at McDonalds. The entire restaurant seemed to accomodate for every type of person, from families with small kids to teenagers on dates to the lonely men in their thirties having midlife a crisis at the bar.

"Impressed?" Finn asked with a smile so she could only figure that he had noticed her wide eyes and mouth slightly agape.

"Impressed would definitely be one way to phrase it."

"Come on," Finn grabbed her hand and led her toward the arcade. As they walked, Clarke kept an eye out for anyone she might recognize from school. She didn't expect too; most of the kids that looked around her age were completely unfamiliar and a few of them even had on Trikru or Mount Weather sweatshirts.

"Looks pretty crowded." Finn careened to the left as a kid as young as seven bolted past him quickly followed by an older girl yelling for him to come back. "Wow, that kid can run."

Clarke grinned. "You really know how to treat a girl."

Finn started toward an empty basketball game with Clarke on his heels. "Care for a game of basketball?"

"I hate basketball," she admitted.

"Well, that makes two of us. But it's the only thing that isn't occupied by a bunch of kiddos so I figured it's better than nothing." Finn fed the machine a dollar and three basketballs rolled down the chute. The time on the clock read two minutes. He sunk a basket and the timer started counting down immediately after the ball hit the rim. He picked up a second and tossed it to Clarke. "Come on, Clarke!"

"What?" she exclaimed, tossing the ball back, "no way."

Finn tossed it back, and she caught it reflexively. "Better make a shot, Clarke, we've got less than two minutes on the clock now."

"I hate you." Clarke balanced the ball in her palms, hoping to aim it at the right angle. If she was able to get enough height, then maybe she'd sink it. With a minute and ten seconds on the clock, she tossed the ball. It bounced off the rim and rolled back down the chute. "I told you I sucked."

"You hit the rim so that's at least something. I've seen guys who miss completely."

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better."

Finn smiled. "Anytime, Princess."

Clarke gave an uptight smile, but Finn didn't seem to notice as he sunk another basket. The nickname didn't sound right coming from him; it wasn't that Clarke liked it when Bellamy called her _princess_ but he had been doing it for so long that she had simply grown accustomed to it. Finn didn't have the seniority to use the nickname, no matter how much she liked him. "Just Clarke, Finn. You know I hate it when you call me princess."

Finn sobered up as the buzzer on the timer hit. "You're right. I'm sorry." He reached for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Let me make it up to you by getting you something to drink."

She gave him a skeptical look because there was a bar in the place afterall, and she wasn't sure if they were the loose kind of establishment that gave alcohol to underage teens as long as they behaved. Finn must have picked up on her hesitation. "Not from the bar. I meant along the lines of fountain drinks."

Clarke nodded, allowing herself to relax again. She wasn't sure why she had gotten so worried for a second there; Finn wasn't that type of guy. Then again, she had only been friends with him for about two weeks and had only really been on two dates with him. If you counted making out in a radioactive-glowing forest a first date.

"Yeah, that sounds great actually," she thanked him. "Did you want me to come with you?"

Finn glanced around the arcade, probably trying to decide whether there were any guys hanging around that could be threats. Most of the people in the arcade were fourteen or younger except for the occasional parent following their kid around. "Nah, it's okay. This place is busy right now so it might take a few minutes so you might as well find a game you like and I'll join you in a few minutes. Is Coke good or…?"

"Could you get me a Dr. Pepper?"

"Of course." He kissed her on the temple. "I'll be right back." He disappeared into the restaurant.

Clarke whirled around in an arc, trying to figure out what might be appealing to her in a place like this. Arcades never really were her speed—that was always more of a Jasper and Monty thing. Clarke prefered taking walks or reading.

"Did your boyfriend drag you down here on date?" Clarke whirled around to face a tall, tan brunette with dark eyes who had come up from behind to stand next to her. She had on black skinny jeans, a red jacket, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

Clarke managed a small smile while simultaneously scrunching her eyebrows. Was Finn her boyfriend at this point? They never did make it official. "My friend thought it'd be fun for a change," she decided to say.

"Not really your thing though, huh?" The girl had a knowing smile on her face.

Clarke's smile widened slightly, more genuine than before. "How'd you guess?"

The girl slipped her hands into her back pockets casually. She glanced around the arcade before settling back on Clarke. "Just the look on your face," she grinned good naturedly, "You didn't seem to know what you were doing."

"I've never been here before. Anything worth checking out?"

"They have a pretty decent first person shooter selection, which is where I normally spend my time when I'm here."

"You come here often, then?"

The girl shrugged. "My boyfriend and I would hang out here a lot. I moved last year though, so we haven't gotten to hang out for a few months. I'm actually surprising him because my dad got a house in the area so I moved in with him so I could go to the same school as my boyfriend."

"He must be a great guy to go through all that for."

"He really is. He's really my only true family since my parents have always tended to gloss over me." The brunette suddenly stuck out her hand and Clarke shook it. "I'm Raven by the way."

"Clarke." She dropped Raven's hand. "So you just moved back, huh? Which school do you go to then?"

Raven sidestepped as an elementary aged child ran past. "I was going to Trikru but I'm starting at West Arke in a few days."

Clarke's eyes widened. "West Arke? I go there!"

Raven grinned. "Nice! Now I'll have at least two people to help me out for the first week."

Clarke settled with her back against the side of the basketball game. Raven did likewise. "I'm sure you'll like it. And if push comes to shove, I don't mind adopting you into my group of friends."

Raven chuckled gently, looking at the floor. "Thanks, Clarke."

"Clarke!" She heard Finn's voice over the boisterous crowd. A moment later she saw his long, dark hair. Another second and he was right in front of her, a look of surprised horror on his face.

Raven didn't seem to notice since her smile became the widest and brightest Clarke had seen yet. Surging forward, she wrapped her arms around Finn's neck and hugged him tight. "Finn!"

"Raven?" He uncertainly wrapped his arms around her waist, hands still carrying two tall glasses of soft drink. Instead of burying his head into her shoulder, he kept his gaze firmly set on Clarke.

It was clear that he was begging for her to wait, to hear his side of the story. But the smile was wiped from Clarke's face and suddenly she felt like the biggest idiot on the planet. He had a _girlfriend_! Of course with her luck the first nice guy she meets after getting over Wells would have a _girlfriend_.

"Oh my gosh, Finn, I've missed you so much." Raven pulled away from the hug and placed a kiss on his lips like she hadn't seen him in forever. Which she probably hadn't. Clarke felt sick to her stomach.

"I've miss you too," Finn broke the kiss, trying to focus on Raven's eyes but they kept darting back up to Clarke. She watched on with cold eyes. He finally managed to keep his eyes on Raven for more than five seconds. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise," she gushed, "but I moved in with my dad. He has a house down here down, so I'm going to school with you again!"

Finn tried to maintain an excited facade, but mostly he had this look of panic. "You're going to West Arke with me?"

"Yeah! Isn't it great?"

"Yeah. Great."

Raven's smile dimmed slightly, seeming to pick up on Finn's lack of enthusiasm for the first time. "So," she turned, suddenly realizing that Clarke was present still, "you guys know each other?"

Finn looked at a loss for words. "We're history partners," Clarke supplied. She technically wasn't lying either. "We've been working on a project and Finn thought it would be good to get out for a while."

Raven visibly relaxed, but she still didn't look overly convinced. "Well, it works out that we all got to meet then."

Clarke picked up on how the friendliness that Raven had shown her previously was replaced by distrusting caution. It seemed like a pretty clear red flag in her mind that it was time for her to go home. "Yeah. But it's about time I head home anyway. My brother is expecting me," she lied.

"Did you need a ride?" The color was finally returning to Finn's face.

Clarke shook her head stiffly. "No, it's fine. I have a ride." She turned to Raven. "It was really nice meeting you."

"Back at you," Raven responded a tad dull, an annoyed glint in her brown eyes.

Clarke exited the arcade. She was almost to the door when footsteps alighted beside her and then Finn was cutting off her retreat to the door. "Hey," he grabbed her elbow, "can we talk?"

"There's nothing to talk about, Finn," she replied calmly. Even though she wanted nothing more than to yell at him and tell him off, she couldn't bring herself to do so. He had been such a good friend to her, she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to completely erase him from her person. "You have a girlfriend. That's that."

"I didn't know that she was coming back." He looked broken and his eyes were pleading with her again. It almost made her want to forgive him.

"She's your girlfriend, Finn. How did you let that slip your mind?"

"She moved to Maine with her mom. We never officially broke up but I didn't think that I would ever see her again." He cupped her face in his hand. "Don't you think we deserve a shot to see if what _we_ have is something worth saving?"

Clarke pulled away from the embrace, trying harder than ever to keep her tears back. He didn't deserve her tears. "Raven is in there waiting for you. I suggest you go in there; I'm not waiting for you and neither will she if you keep her waiting."

She shimmied around him and left him standing in the restaurant. Out in the parking lot, she spotted his truck right away and was tempted to toss a rock through the windshield. It was hard to think that it was just this morning that she had been kissing Finn at the base of the staircase at school.

It was dark out now and the temperature had dropped significantly since she left her house earlier in the afternoon. She was regretting her decision of cut-off shorts. At least she had her flannel.

The only problem at hand now was how she was going to get home.

…

Bellamy's character jumped over a crack in the floor.

At one point, it had been rare for Octavia to be out of the house long enough for Bellamy to get through a half hour of designated video game time without getting interrupted. Now that she was spending more time with Jasper at his house, Bellamy was able to actually improve his skills at Ps4. Not that he liked the idea of his sister being romanced by any guy, but at least he knew that Jasper knew the boundaries. And if push came to shove, Bellamy was confident with Clarke being their appointed babysitter whenever Octavia was at their house.

"Where are you?" Miller asked. His character was crouching behind a crumbling building about fifty yards from where Bellamy had his own guy camped out.

"Fifth floor of that building opposite of you. We have a pretty good vantage point too."

"Cover me."

Bellamy changed his point of few to watch for any threats that might sneak up as Miller crossed the clearing but none came. "Clear," he announced when Miller reached the base of the building.

Bellamy was about to launch their attack when his phone started ringing. Miller groaned as he paused the game. "Shut up. It might be Octavia." He slipped his phone out of his pocket. It was an unknown number. He debated to let it go to voicemail, but for some reason he felt like he recognized the digits. "Hello?"

There was a second of silence. He thought it may have been some kids pulling a prank when a familiar voice asked, _"Bellamy?"_

"Clarke?" he asked incredulously. Miller's eyes widened in surprise, then leaned in closer to eavesdrop. "How'd you even get my number?"

" _I called Jasper who's with Octavia_ — _Octavia gave it to me."_

"Oh. What's up?"

"'What's up?'" Miller scoffed. "That's the best you could come up with?"

Bellamy shoved him away. "Clarke, what's wrong? I know you wouldn't call me unless you absolutely had to."

" _I was on a date. I need to be picked up and my parents are at work and my brother doesn't have a car."_

"Why don't you have Finn do it?" She was startlingly quiet on the other end. Even an idiot could pick up that something bad had went down between them. "Where are you?" She told him the address. "Okay. I'll be there in a few minutes."

" _Hey, Bellamy?"_ The softness of her tone surprised him. _"I really appreciate it."_

"No problem. Sit tight." He slipped his phone into his back pocket and grabbed his keys off of the table. "If my mom or Octavia get home before I'm back, tell them I had to take Clarke home."

Miller threw his hands in the air. "You're not taking me with you?"

Bellamy shrugged with his signature smug half-grin. "She asked for me, Miller. I think if she wanted you there, she would have asked for 'Bellamy and Miller.'"

"She didn't even know I was here."

"Tough luck, buddy." Bellamy closed the door before Miller could make any further protests.

It took some time, but Bellamy finally found the address Clarke had given him. He was surprised that she was on the other side of the township. This was Mount Weather and Trikru turf. Even Reaper turf, come to think of it. Not a place for a Delinquent. What was Clarke doing all the way out here? If she wanted pizza, she should have gone to the place right up in town.

He spotted her right away when he pulled into the parking lot. She was sitting with her legs pulled up to her chest on a big boulder in front of the restaurant. "Clarke?" he called out the window.

Clarke peaked over her shoulder at his car. When she recognized it was him, she slid off of the rock and made a mad dash for the passenger's side. "Thank you," she said as she slipped into the seat.

Bellamy revved up the engine and pulled out on the road. It was funny, because if someone had told him he'd be giving Clarke Griffin a ride, he would have laughed in their faces until tears started overflowing. But now both Clarke _and_ her brother had been in his car in less than a month.

Clarke was unusually quiet. It unnerved him because even when she was mad, Clarke would be going off about it. But now she was still and she was quiet. "There's a blanket in the back if you need it."

Clarke shifted slightly. "What?" she asked.

Bellamy could see her watching him from his peripherals, but he kept his eyes on the faintly lit road. "You look cold." With his free hand, he reached into the backseat and pulled out a blanket. He shoved it into her lap. "Here."

Clarke fidgeted with the blanket, trying to get comfortable. "Is this the One Direction one?" He picked up on the slight smile to her words.

"Yeah," Bellamy half-grinned, "I told you I keep it in my car."

She chucked to herself. "I guess you did."

They traveled in silence for a few more miles. "Hey," he broke the silence. Clarke gave him a sidelong glance. "I wanted to say sorry that things didn't work out with Wells." She huffed. "Did you want to talk about what happened tonight? I'm willing to listen."

"No offense," she said, "but not really. Maybe some other time."

"I get it."

Bellamy tried not to feel offended, but he still did to a certain extent. He knew he probably wasn't the first person Clarke would go to to talk about stuff like feelings, but he had offered. And she spurned him. Then again, he wouldn't like it if she started poking her nose into his business regarding Roma.

The remains of the ride was silent up until he needed Clarke to clarify the directions to her house once they entered the subdivision. "Home sweet home," he mumbled as he pulled the car to a stop in front of her house. He noticed that Octavia's car wasn't in the driveway.

Clarke tossed the blanket into the backseat. "Thanks again, Bellamy," she eased out of the car. She was halfway across the lawn when she turned around and quietly shouted, "It's nice to know I can at least count on you." Then she was in the house.

Bellamy put his car back into gear and pulled out onto the street. He wasn't sure why, but Clarke's compliment meant a lot more to him than it probably should have.

...

I've been home sick from school with a Staf infection for the last two days so that means super fast update! this is the longest one so far too, with over 4000 words lmao

the long awaited chapter! I told you things were getting complicated.

and by the way, your guys' reviews are amazing. thank you so much. if it weren't for the few of you who keep giving me feedback, i probably wouldn't have made it this far! So thank you! Not only is this chapter dedicated to you, but so is this entire story. :) thank you for being amazing

2/23/16


	11. Aftermath

**Chapter Eleven: Aftermath**

The betrayal hurt.

Clarke most often carried herself in a manner of strength and authority; sometimes people wondered if she even had feelings, but the truth was that she had become an expert at steeling away her emotions ever since her parents got divorced so many years ago. It broke her. And Clarke refused to let herself feel that way ever again.

Unfortunately, she made the horrible mistake of developing feelings for her best friend, Wells. He'd always been cute, but slowly and steadily, Clarke found herself becoming more attracted to the way he smelled like fresh laundry and how he sounded when he excitedly explained the latest science developments, no matter how boring she thought it was. And then one day, he broke her heart and Clarke had to steel away her emotions again.

She had even promised herself that she wasn't going to bother with boys, at least not until she had finished her schooling. Clearly they were a distraction. But then Finn Collins, the mysterious guy with rugged good looks, swept her up off her feet. He was smart, funny, and kept Clarke on her toes. All in all, he had been perfect.

 _Almost_ perfect. Now she was subjected to another broken heart. If she wasn't careful, she might not have one to even break anymore. A shattered heap of miscellaneous emotions would just be sitting her chest like a junkyard. At this point Clarke was ready to swear off love; it was a messy business that only seemed to screw her over.

Normally, Clarke would treat Finn's blow to her heart as any other one—she'd hole away her anger and sadness and use it as her driving force to accomplish some sort of objective. But this struck something deep inside of Clarke. She'd felt certain that Finn was something special.

Too bad it took another crack at her heart for her to realize that Finn was just another guy who wasn't worth her affection.

Upon returning home, Clarke ignored about three dozen texts from Finn as well as four phone calls. She tried keeping busy with homework, but finished early leaving her with nothing to do but listen to the constant dinging of her phone as it lit up with another text or voicemail. His efforts dimmed around midnight, but at least one new message appeared every half-hour.

Clarke tried to sleep, but her mind kept drifting; what was she going to do when she saw him now? What about Raven? Wasn't she supposed to be starting at West Arke on Monday? Who was she supposed to go with to Homecoming now? Not Finn, certainly not Wells!

Her thoughts momentarily drifted to Bellamy as she watched the ceiling. Jasper may have been her initial hope to pick her up, but why had Bellamy been her first choice afterward? It's not like they were friends. Why hadn't she called up Harper? Or Fox? Or even Monroe? Bellamy of all people!

Eventually Clarke had enough of her inner worries and tried clearing her mind. She felt herself relaxing for a little while, but couldn't quite fall asleep. Around two in the morning, she decided to grab a snack from the pantry. On her way down the hall, she heard muffled gunfire coming from Jasper's room.

Easing the door open, she saw her brother curled up in a teal blanket while he played Ps4. "You're still up? It's two."

"You're up too," he pointed out without looking away from the screen. Clarke sat down on the bed beside Jasper and leaned her head against his shoulder. "A thousand thoughts at once?" His voice was soft, almost soothing, reminding Clarke of another reason why she loved him so much.

"Maybe closer to a million."

"That's rough."

"Yeah."

Jasper shot two rounds and a character on an opposing rooftop fell over the side. "You came home from your date with Finn early. Wanna tell me what happened?"

Clarke tensed slightly. "Nothing happened."

Jasper paused his game, turning to look at her square in the eye. His lips didn't have the beginning of a smile the way he normally did. "Clarke, we both know you're a horrible liar."

Clarke scoffed half-heartedly. "I am not a horrible liar."

Jasper frowned, apparently having his point been proved. "I've known you for years, Clarke. I know when you're lying."

"Okay, fine." She fell backwards onto Jasper's comforter. "Turns out...Finn has a girlfriend."

"Yeah," Jasper replied slowly, "you, right?" He said it as a statement with an unsure undertone. His eyebrows furrowed gently.

Clarke chuckled bitterly. "Not me."

Anger flashed across Jasper's features. "You mean he was cheating on you?"

"I mean he was cheating on his girlfriend with _me_."

Clarke hadn't seen Jasper this mad since Wells refused to leave their yard. He had wanted to apologize for the unkept time, but wouldn't get off their front porch until Clarke came out to talk to him. After a while, Jasper stormed out of the house and told him to get lost. She still hadn't forgotten the animosity in his eyes from that day. It almost scared her that her cinammon roll of a brother could be capable of such anger.

"So how has he been able to juggle her and you?"

"I guess she moved to Maine last year. He told me that they never officially broke up but he never expected to hear from her again."

Jasper laid down on his back so that they were staring at the ceiling together. "Thats bullshit. I hope you know that."

"Yeah. I know. I wish I didn't, but I do."

"It's better to know than to get played."

"I know," she responded quietly.

They laid together in the dim glow of Jasper's Christmas lights for a few minutes. The only sound in the still house was low hum of the fish tank in the corner of the room. "Me and Monty could take him," Jasper offered after Clarke had assumed he had fallen asleep.

She grinned softly. "That's nice, but not necessary."

"I think it is. You're worth too much to let some pond scum like him treat you like that."

"Jasper?"

Jasper hesitated a moment. "Yeah?"

"How did I get so lucky to have you for a brother?"

Jasper slipped his hand into Clarke's and a flower of warmth bloomed in her chest. "I am pretty awesome, I will concede, but I think I'm the lucky one to have you as my sister."

Turning on her side, Clarke nuzzled up to Jasper's shoulder. "I'm sorry for disturbing your game."

"Don't sweat it. This was more important anyway." Jasper pursed his lips. "But if Finn crosses me at the wrong time, I am going to punch his lights out."

…

The next morning, Clarke indulged herself in a luxury she hadn't had since the time she didn't want to give a presentation in the fifth grade—she played sick.

Originally she wasn't going to submit to the enticing prospect of sleeping in; it's not like she hadn't pulled all nighters and gone to school the next day before. But she didn't want to face a new day knowing she had to see Finn and deal with his apologies. Clarke may not have been one to hide from her problems, but she had no problem with postponing them an extra day.

She woke up in Jasper's room after having fallen asleep around two thirty, according to Jasper. Before his alarm had gone off, she had crept down stairs where her mother and Marcus were already up and about.

"Mom," Clarke mumbled pathetically, dragging her feet across the wood floor. Abby looked up from her Kindle and Marcus directed his attention on her as well. "I don't feel so good."

"Oh, honey," Abby hurried over to inspect her daughter.

Clarke had expected as much—kids who had doctors for parents tended to lose out on the opportunity of playing sick because they were busted before they could even hope to stay home. Abby studied Clarke skeptically.

This is it, Clarke thought. She shouldn't have even bothered to try. It was only nearing the beginning of October—she never got sick this early on in the year!

Abby pressed her palm to Clarke's forehead. "You do feel warm," she muttered. Clarke noted the understanding in her mother's eyes. Clarke very well knew that her mom knew that Clarke was perfectly healthy. And yet, she was agreeing to play along. "I'll call you in. Go back up to bed."

"Thanks, Mom." Clarke nodded at Marcus before taking off for the stairs, never slowing her pace from a fast walk until she was submerged in her maroon bed sheets.

When she woke up the second time, it was eight o'clock and the house was unusually silent. Jasper would be almost finished with his first hour, her mom would have left for the hospital around seven thirty, and Marcus would be at his office by now. A quick trip to the kitchen revealed a note from her mom telling her she hoped that Clarke felt better and that there were waffles in the fridge for breakfast if she wanted any.

She wolfed down a bowl of cereal (she never did eat the night before), and then went back upstairs to take advantage of her day off and rest. The next time Clarke woke up, it was close to noon. She resolved to eating leftover pasta from the night before, but a knock at the door startled her.

She wasn't going to open the door, but the relentless pounding became persistent. Then her phone buzzed.

 **12:06pm**

 _Are you going to open the door or what princess?_

Bellamy

What was Bellamy doing here? she thought as she opened the door.

Bellamy stood on her porch dressed in ripped jeans, a black t-shirt, and grey converse high-tops. His dark curls were more disheveled than normal. In one hand he had a take-out bag and in the other he had his phone. "Hey," he said as he shoved his phone into his back pocket.

Clarke pursed her lips. It looked like he had just gone out for lunch and decided to make a quick stop by. "What are you doing here?"

Bellamy looked taken back. "To see how you were doing?" It came out as more of a question, though Clarke suspected he had meant for it to sound more like a statement.

Clarke glanced at the door frame and then back up at Bellamy. Against her better judgement, she heard herself saying, "You can come in if you want." She stepped to the side and Bellamy nodded at her as he followed her inside.

"I brought you some lunch." He held out the bag to her.

She accepted the bag and found a wave of loose French Fries as well as a hamburger inside. She popped a French Fry into her mouth, motioning for Bellamy to join her as she slid into a chair at the kitchen island. "Your lunch hour is going to be over soon," she pointed out.

Bellamy shrugged, reaching into the bag and taking a French Fry for himself. "My next class can wait."

"What's your next class?"

"Statistics."

Clarke furrowed her eyebrows. "That's probably not the best class to skip."

"Not the most ideal," he agreed, "but I wanted to make sure the princess had something to eat while she was at home. That and Finn wouldn't leave me alone. I guess he saw us leaving the restaurant last night and he was just buggin' with stupid questions."

"Well that's super." Clarke rolled her eyes. Of course Finn would have noticed them. And not only that, but he felt that it was his business to know what was going on! Somewhere, deep inside her stomach, Clarke felt satisfaction in knowing that Finn was jealous.

Bellamy ate another fry. He reached for another one, and Clarke swatted at his hand. "Whoa," he chuckled, faking annoyance, "who brought you those, again?"

"Exactly," Clarke smirked, "you brought them as a gift to me. Technically I don't have to share." Regardless, she allowed him to peck at her food yet. "You know, while we're here, we might as well try to come up with a game plan for getting people to sign up for the Quiz Bowl. So far, the flyers haven't worked."

Bellamy chuckled incredulously. "What?" Clarke demanded.

Bellamy shrugged, the slight frown he always seemed to be wearing spreading across his lips. "Do you ever relax, Princess?"

Clarke regarded him shrewdly. "What do you think I've been doing all day?"

He shrugged again. "Nice pajamas by the way."

Clarke looked down at her pink silk pants and West Arke soccer team shirt she adopted from Jasper. Instead of letting herself be embarrassed the way she knew he wanted her to feel, she fixed him with a withering look. "My God, Bellamy."

He shrugged again with a small smile that she wanted to slap off of his face. "Why do we have to be the only ones coming up with stuff? We're not the only people in student council."

"I know," she conceded, "but we're in charge. Like it or not, they look up to us and we have to set the example."

"You set the example pretty well by yourself." Bellamy raised a French Fry to his lips, halted midway, then set it back down. Looking down he mumbled, "It might even be better if I just stepped down and let you be president by yourself."

Clarke watched him closely. Something seemed really off about all of this—Bellamy being nice? Bellamy wanting to let her be president out of his own free will? "What's wrong with you right now?"

Bellamy's head shot up and his eyes narrowed dangerously. Clarke felt kind of bad for offending him, but something was seriously weird. "Excuse me?"

Clarke upturned her nose slightly. Maybe if she got under his skin, then he'd go back to being the normal Bellamy she had at least learned to understand. "It's been your goal to be student council president since freshman year! You're being nice to me!? This all so off!"

Bellamy glared at her intensely. For a minute, Clarke was afraid that he was going to snap at her, but he exhaled deeply and then stood up. "Nevermind. You're right. I shouldn't have come over."

Scrunching her eyebrows, Clarke jogged after Bellamy as he made a beeline towards the door. "Wait!" she said, "that's not what I meant!"

"I just felt bad," he admitted, standing halfway through the threshold. "I know it's been tough with Wells. I heard about the shit with your dad. Now Finn. I just figured you didn't need any more bullshit on your plate right now. But I should've known that that would've just messed you up more." He shuffled down the walkway towards his car.

Clarke watched him leave. She watched him climb into his car and drive away. She had been tempted to call after him, tell him that she appreciated his sincerity.

But she didn't. Instead, she watched him drive away.

...

please review! they make me happy! and increases writer motivation *wink*)

3/7/16


	12. I Remember Why

**Chapter Twelve: I Remember Why I Loved You**

Raven hadn't planned on starting school until the following week.

Everything about the move had left her feeling discombobulated—between having to pack up all of her things to move thousands of miles down the coast for the _second_ time in the last year and a half and the fact that she wasn't fully moved into her new house was enough to leave her feeling stressed.

But after the ordeal at the restaurant the other night with Finn and Clarke, Raven felt that it had been best to start school a few days earlier than expected. The previous day, Clarke had been out sick which apparently is a big deal because rumours about her absence were spreading like wildfire throughout the senior and junior classes.

Raven's personal favorite so far was that Clarke was called away to help interrogate a pair of Russian spies who had entered the country from Canada using underground tunnels. None of the rumours she heard so far had been negative to Clarke's reputation so Raven figured that she held a relatively high status among the student body.

She might've even been impressed and willing to forget the ordeal the other night if it hadn't been for how dazed Finn had acted all day. At first he had been blatantly upset by her absence, though he tried to hide it. As the day progressed, his anger melted into never wavering concern. When Bellamy, who Raven was introduced to earlier, disappeared around lunch, Finn became visibly more upset again and remained that way until Bellamy was back in class for fifth hour.

Raven tried to ignore it, but her gut told her that his behavior was all off—something had gone on between Clarke and Finn behind the scenes and Raven knew for a fact that she wasn't going to like it when she uncovered the truth.

The following day, Clarke was back in school and things at West Arke seemed to get back to usual; the rumours died off the moment someone spotted Clarke in the halls. Finn became much more pleasant to be around as well, though Raven forced herself to look away from it.

By the end of the day, Raven had re-established friendly terms with the blonde, though she could tell that it was strained on Clarke's side just as much as hers. Fortunately, they only had one class together and Finn was in four of hers, meaning Raven could keep an eye on him.

She was hoping that Finn would stop looking to Clarke like a puppy, but when Finn said that he had to stay after school she snapped. "What do you mean you're in student council? When have you ever been interested in stuff like that?"

Raven watched his eyes stray, and she followed his gaze until she saw Clarke and Harper enter the room that was meant to host the council meeting. His eyes flicked back to her, but the damage was done; her eyes hardened.

"I've always thought about joining," he said in the low tone he used whenever he was serious, "but there have always been things that got in the way. By being in a new school, I was able to get a fresh start at things I haven't been able to do in the past."

Raven leveled her gaze, arms crossed. "Can you look me in the eye and tell me that it didn't have to do with Clarke being in it?"

Finn sighed. "Okay, I'll admit that her being in it gave me the extra incentive to actually join in." When Raven opened her mouth to cut him off, he placed his hands on her shoulders comfortingly and continued, "But can you blame me, Raven? She was my only friend up until joining student council. At least now I have Wells and...Bellamy."

Raven knew that Finn was grasping when he mentioned Bellamy's name, but as much as she hated to acknowledge it, he was right. Air deflated from her lungs as her body released it's tense stance. "Okay, I believe you."

Finn smiled at her tenderly, and suddenly Raven remembered back to when they were kids splashing in the pond in his backyard and catching frogs, all of the robotics competitions he had gone to to support her, all of the nights she stayed up late tutoring him over the phone for important science tests. She remembered all of the reasons why she loved him in the first place as he placed his lips on hers.

But all of the memories flooded away in a rush as his mouth moved from hers. Quickly, Raven looped her arms around his neck and pulled him back to her as she tangled her fingers in his hair. "Wait," she whispered between kisses, "can I join student council with you?"

His body froze momentarily, but he didn't hesitate when he said, "Yes. Yes of course. I'd want you too."

Raven smiled, lowering her lashes enticingly as she laced her fingers with his. "Come on, Spacewalker," she whispered, "lead the way."

"As you wish," he said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

As they entered the room, Raven couldn't help her smug smile when she saw Clarke glance away nervously at her entwined hand with Finn's. The princess may rule the kingdom, but this knight was hers.

…

Wells regarded the new girl.

It had been a process, and the meeting that had been scheduled to be forty-five minutes was now being pushed back to being an hour and a half thanks to the sudden decision of the new girl to join just because her boyfriend was.

Boyfriend. _Boyfriend_.

The word made Wells's stomach boil and it only intensified whenever he would glance to his left where Raven was sitting in Finn's lap. She seemed perfectly content, twirling the end of her ponytail while she watched Clarke with a smug grin. Finn also watched Clarke, but with longing more than nothing else.

Wells hated Finn. He had always disliked the guy, but that was out of jealousy of Clarke's interest in him. But after this stunt, Wells _truly_ hated him. Finn was supposed to take of Clarke, and even if Wells wished it had been him that she chose, all he wanted was for her to be happy and loved at the end of the day—if that meant being with Finn, then Wells was willing to accept it. After all, he had started leaving her alone to be happy with Finn, hadn't he?

But Finn had lied and cheated her. Wells may not be proud of the things he had done in the past, but it had been out of good intentions that happened to go south. He didn't intentionally betray her the way Finn did by harboring a second lover.

Wells turned his attention back to Clarke.

"—homecoming in two weeks and our Quiz Bowl deadline is shortly after that and we still haven't gotten one person to sign up yet," she was saying. She looked to Harper and Monroe who had taken up homecoming as their main project. "How's it looking on that warfront?"

Monroe folded her hands on the desk. "We should be all set except for selling the tickets, which we plan to do next week."

Clarke nodded, seeming to find this idea acceptable. Bellamy regarded her, ignoring Clarke. "So everything with the catering is good too then?"

"And we have the budget for decorations," Fox affirmed, glancing over a clipboard. "You're and Clarke's idea for that bake sale last week was genius."

Bellamy nodded to himself proudly. Clarke rolled her eyes.

Raven sat up, catching Wells's attention. "What about this Quiz Bowl thing?" She asked skeptically. "From the sounds of it, you guys aren't doing too well on that front."

Clarke offered a pained smile. "We still haven't reached a successful angle on how to get people to sign up for it," she admitted.

"Flyers don't work," Bellamy added.

Wells pursed his lips. "As much as it pains me to say this, but we might have to suck it up and do it ourselves, guys."

Several people in the room shot him hard glares. "Keep it to yourself, Jaha," Miller murmured, looking annoyed.

Clarke shot him a look and Wells had to do a double take. Did she just defend him? "It may come to that," she conceded, loud enough for everyone to hear, "and I hope everyone is ready to step up if it does." She looked to Bellamy.

"Clarke's right," he agreed. "Look guys," he made a point of glancing at Miller and Monroe, "we chose to be in these positions and sometimes we're going to have to do stuff that really sucks. Trust me, I don't want to have to be in this stupid ass Quiz Bowl anymore than you guys do."

"And the king has spoken," Raven applauded. Bellamy narrowed his eyes at her.

If looks could kill, then at least half of the people in the room would have been dead by now, Wells thought.

"We really need to figure something out on how to get people to do this competition though," Finn interrupted the glaring, placing a comforting hand on the small of Raven's back.

Clarke's jaw tightened. "We'll do what we must. Well, I think that just about wraps up this meeting." She turned to Bellamy. "Anything else you have to say on the matter?"

Bellamy grunted, massaging his temples. Wells noticed that he shot a sneer in Raven and Finn's direction, but he didn't know who it was aimed at—it could have been at both for all he knew (and suspected.) "No. I think that about sums it up. We're basically in the same place as we were the last three meetings."

"Meeting dismissed," Clarke said.

Fox and Sterling were the first to leave, quickly followed by Harper and Monroe who were still busy chatting about the homecoming preparations. Finn looked like he wanted to hang back, probably to talk to Clarke, but Raven pulled him out the door with her. Bellamy left with Miller.

Wells packed his books into his bag slowly, purposefully taking his time. Clarke was pushing the desks back into their original positions. Getting up, he shuffled up to the desk that was beside the one that she was pushing. "Hi," he said awkwardly, digging his palms into the side of the desk as he pushed it across the carpet.

"Uh," she looked surprised, but her eyes didn't flash with unmeasurable hate like he was accustomed to which was a good sign. "Hi, Wells. Can I, uh, help you with something?"

"Um," he didn't know what to do with his hands so he returned to the remaining few desks and pushed it back as he said, "I just wanted to let you know how, uh, sorry I am. About what happened with Finn I mean."

Clarke's cheeks tinted pink, but she still didn't look angry. So far he hadn't crossed the boundary. "You heard about that, huh?"

Wells shrugged. "Bellamy told me when he got back to school yesterday. But even if he hadn't, I'd've figured it out myself based on the way Raven hangs on him."

Clarke sighed deeply, sitting down on the top of the nearest desk. Wells leaned against it, their bodies less than a foot apart. It was the closest he had been to her without her raging since their break-up. "It hurts, but I'll manage," she said quietly.

"If it's any consolation, you're handling it a lot better than what most people would do. Color me impressed."

Clarke smiled half-heartedly. "It's a pretty sucky situation, but I have a pretty good support group to fall back on." Her features dimmed slightly, as if she finally realized who she was talking too. Wells picked up on it straightaway. "But I—"

"—I get it," Wells cut her off. He inched away from the desk, giving her more space. "By support, you mean Jasper, Harper," he paused, "maybe Bellamy. I know you still think of me as your enemy."

Clarke opened her mouth as if to say something, closed her mouth, opened it, and then closed it again. Her dimmed expression was replaced by a look of mild confusion, her eyebrows knit together. "I...don't think of you as my enemy."

Wells's eyebrows shot up. Boy, he was making progress today! "You don't?"

She shrugged, pursing her lips to one side. "I was really angry, yeah. I mean, my dad means so much to me and I only got to see him so much already so to have him ripped away —yeah, I was angry."

"Understandable."

"But the truth is," she paused, her eyes darting between her hands and Wells a few times before continuing, "I've been talking to my dad recently...and I know you didn't do what you did with intentions of what happened. I know you were trying to help...and I let my anger blindside me."

Wells felt his heart beating faster in his chest. In his wildest dreams, he had expected to at least be on friendly terms with Clarke and maybe she's re-follow him on Instagram. Never did he imagine that she would _actually_ forgive him!

"I'm still really sorry that things worked out the way they did," he apologized.

Clarke smiled slightly. "I know you are. It's kind of funny, but I think my dad likes California better than New Jersey anyway. He's already planning a trip for me to come out and visit him."

Wells returned her petite smile. "Well, I'm glad that my stupidity didn't ruin _everything_."

Clarke regarded him with wandering eyes. She seemed to be studying every inch of his person, from his face down to his toes. It was like she was memorizing him, or perhaps, _remembering_ him. Remembering when she held ownership to him. "Let me get something straight, Wells."

Her hard tone made his stomach drop like a jar of dirt. "Go for it."

"I'm not looking to rekindle our old relationship, alright? That ship has sailed and sunk and not even Davy Jones's magic could resurrect it from the sea, okay?"

"Okay." He should've seen this coming.

"But," Wells perked up at the small remorse in her voice, "I do miss this; I miss talking to you."

"I miss talking to you too, Clarke."

"There's no way I can just go back to being best friends with you. My secrets are _my_ secrets and stuff like that."

"Understandable." Dare he get his hopes up?

"I wanna just start over. Fresh start. We'll wipe the slate clean. I know that's what my dad would want and I want it to." Clarke stuck her hand out to shake. "Hi, there. My name's Clarke—Clarke Abigail Griffin. And you are?"

Wells accepted her hand, her skin soft against his own. Staring into her green eyes, blonde hair framing her face, Wells remembered the moment he first saw Clarke back in middle school. Confident and fierce, she had a way of capturing his heart back then the same way she did now.

"Wells Gregory Jaha. Nice to meet you."

...

i wonder how long Raven is going to be willing to put up with Finn and his shenanigans

and Clarke forgave Wells! But will Bellamy forgive Clarke for snapping at him for being concerned for her?

What's going to happen with Homecoming just around the corner?

Where's Octavia, Jasper, and Monty been?

If you weren't asking these questions before, they're going to be eating at your brain now!

3/15/16


	13. I'll Admit, You're Not a Dick

**Chapter Thirteen: I'll Admit, You're Not a Dick**

Jasper paused and inhaled deeply as he stepped out onto the field.

The last game had been canceled due to dangerous weather and the game before that he had missed for a doctor's appointment so it felt good to be back on the grass in his somewhat smelly jersey and cleats. He got much too antsy whenever he missed a game and missing two made him even more restless.

Most of the other players were already performing warm-ups; some were running drills around orange cones while others did stretches and breathing exercises. Sterling juggled the ball like a professional for a solid minute before the ball bounced away.

Jasper glanced around the field, keeping his eyes open for a perky brunette, but Octavia wasn't to be found at all. He did, however, spot Clarke sitting up in the bleachers several rows up from Bellamy who was sitting closer to the fence line. It was kind of weird because Jasper had been pretty sure that the two were making headway in their friendship, especially now that Finn proved himself to be a two-timing twat.

Who Jasper hadn't be expecting among the faces in the spectator crowd was Monty; his friend was standing at the fence, almost directly below Bellamy, and he had a panicked expression. His knuckles were gripping the bars.

What was Monty doing here? It wasn't uncommon for him to stay for soccer games after school, but it was a Saturday morning! Something bad must have happened to have dragged him out at the crack of dawn on a weekend. Scenarios of nuclear apocalypse and warriors spearing him through the chest flashed through Jasper's brain as he jogged over to the fence.

"Dude," he greeted once he was in earshot. "What's up? What's happened?"

Monty's grip on the fence loosened a smidge, but his expression remained intense. "You never answer your phone."

Guilt clawed at Jasper's stomach. He had been pretty horrible at responding to texts ever since he started hanging out with Octavia. "Yeah, sorry about that, man. I lost my charger."

The lie came off smoothly, and even though he hated lying, it was a more legitimate excuse than what the truth offered. Monty focused in on Jasper, making him wonder if he bought the lie. Probably not; he seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to things like this.

Jasper swept his curls to the side, clearing his throat in the process. "So, what did you have to tell me buddy?"

"Regionals for the robotics competition is this coming friday and we haven't gotten anything done," Monty deadpanned. His grip on the fence tightened once more.

Slight panic creeped into Jasper's stomach, pushing away the guilt he felt earlier. Now he understood why Monty had been looking a shade paler earlier. "Why didn't you warn me sooner?"

Monty scowled at him, making Jasper furrow his eyebrows in surprise. "I have!" Monty exclaimed, angry. "I've reminded you everyday for the last two weeks! But you never answer your phone! And every time I mention it to you in person, you happen to be busy with something else!"

Jasper frowned. He knew that he might have been a little busy, but Monty should have gone to a further extent to try to get his attention. "Okay. I'm sorry," he conceded. Even if he wasn't at fault, it was better to give the apology and just move on—Monty was the stubborn type and Jasper didn't have time for arguing with the game about to start. "I have some notes and stuff that I've been working on solo."

"Me too."

"Did you want to stay after school on Monday in the physics lab and put together a kick ass robot?"

Monty cracked a smile. "I was hoping to hear you ask that."

Jasper grinned, clapping Monty on the shoulder playfully. "Great. I'll see if Octavia can—"

"—hold up a second," Monty interrupted.

Jasper stiffened slightly, eyes narrowing slightly. He didn't like the sudden change in the atmosphere; the switch from easy lighthearted bonding over the prospect of Monday night bot constructing to the slight annoyance in Monty's eyes as soon as Octavia was mentioned.

"What's wrong?" He asked carefully, watching Monty carefully.

Monty's eyes wouldn't meet his for a moment. Then they locked in on Jasper's with startling focus. "You don't seem to perform your best when she's around, okay?"

Jasper felt his face darken. "What's that supposed to mean? You don't like us being together or something? Is that what this is about?"

Monty's nose bunched up, as if revolted by the mere thought. "Of course not! I'm happy that you and Octavia have a mutual interest in each other. All I'm saying is that you get distracted when she's around."

He paused for a minute and the two boys watched each other intensely until Jasper said, "Okay. That's fair." He noticed how much more calm Monty seemed now, how a weight seemed to have been lifted off of his shoulders. "Besides," Jasper continued, "we haven't really hung out in a while, have we? It'll be good for us. Just a couple of bros building robots."

Monty laughed. "Sure, dude."

"Hey Monty?" Monty looked up at Jasper through his bangs. Jasper's grin widened. "We're gonna kick ass at the robotics tournament."

"Hell yeah we are."

The two boys high-fived themselves simultaneously before Jasper was called back onto the field for the game to start.

…

Bellamy tried to focus on the game.

He knew that the only reason he even bothered with showing up to West Arke's soccer games was to support Octavia, but at the moment the Delinquents were down by three goals and the odds were not in their favor. Even Octavia was having a off day, making horrible attempts at passes and goals alike.

Every time the opposing team made a goal Bellamy found himself being sucked deeper into his novel. There was no point watching his friends and sister fail when he could be immersing himself in a historical fiction novel. He was just about to start the fifteenth chapter when he felt a presence loom behind him.

At first Bellamy figured it was someone trying to get past him, so he moved his body out of the walkway. When the figure didn't move, he tried to ignore it and carry on with his reading. But he was too distracted by the ever looming shadow and he had to re-read the same paragraph three times.

Finally he turned around to confront the figure only to find Clarke standing on the bench one up from him. She was dressed in warmer clothes than he was used to seeing her in at soccer games—this time she had on skinny jeans, knitted boots, and a figure hugging coat. On top of that, her blonde curls were hidden in a hat and a big blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. She was looking out at the field, but when she felt Bellamy watching her she looked down at him.

Bellamy scowled at her and turned his attention back to his book. He tried to focus again, but he knew she was still watching him and it made him nervous. Why couldn't she mind her own business? She had already made it clear that she didn't want him poking his nose in what she had going on so why couldn't she return the favor.

Clarke sat to his left. Bellamy continued to fake reading for another minute. Neither of them said anything. Bellamy was about ready to snap at her for ruining his concentration when she said, "We're getting our asses kicked today."

He glanced up from the page. The score now read that the opposing team had eight points to West Arke's zero. "That's one way to put it," he snorted. He let his eyes fall back to the page, but he was obtusely aware of the way Clarke was analyzing him from off to the side.

Couldn't she just back off?

"What are you reading?" She asked.

Bellamy clenched his jaw. "A historical fiction about Pompeii," he answered, showing her the title. She nodded, barely looking interested. "Satisfied?"

She made no effort of acknowledgement, but instead stared out to where Jasper missed an open pass on the field. Bellamy was pretty sure her eyes were stormier than they were and he noticed that her jaw was firmly set, but he wasn't sure if it was because he had offended her or if it was because Jasper missed the pass.

Bellamy wanted to leave. He wanted to get up and leave Clarke sitting alone on the bleachers in the cold as he sat in his heated car with his book while he waited for Octavia to wrap up her game.

But for some reason he couldn't find the motivation to get up and move. It was like he was glued to the seat. He wanted to make a nasty jab at her as revenge for the other day, but nothing menacing came to mind. What was wrong with him! He always had a good insult to pull on Clarke!

Instead he found himself breaking the silence by saying, "I saw your Asian friend down here earlier."

Clarke knit her eyebrows together. "Monty?"

"Kid who sat with us at lunch that one day? The one who's always hanging around your brother?"

"Yeah," she said, "Monty. I wonder what he was doing here."

Bellamy shrugged. "I couldn't hear what they were saying. I just saw him is all."

She pursed her lips to the side, looking mildly offended. "I wonder why he didn't come say 'hi' to me."

Bellamy easily thought up a number of reasons as to why someone would ignore her, but he kept them to himself. He shrugged for her sake, although he wasn't sure why. She was the one who burned him, not the other way around.

They sat in silence for another minute before the suspense was enough to drive Bellamy to stab someone. "Okay, Clarke, what's the real reason you came over to talk to me? I know that you're not actually interested in my book and seeing as you made it clear that we're not friends, you don't really have an excuse to be bugging me."

Clarke pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her blanket around them. She kept her eyes fixed on his. "No, you're right. I just wanted to apologize for how I treated you that one day you came to check up on me. It's just—"

"—just going through the phases of a break-up," he finished for her. "I get it."

"Not even that," she said. Bellamy regarded her curiously. "I think I was just shocked when you said you were going to forfeit your claim to president of student council."

"Well, co-president."

"Whatever." Clarke shoved him; though it was a playful shove, it back a lot of force and Bellamy had to keep himself from falling off of the bench. "But the deal is that the kids in this school look up to you, Bellamy."

Did he just hear her correctly? There is no way that Clarke Griffin was complimenting him. "They look up to you a hell of alot more, Princess."

She sighed. "Bellamy, I know we might have our differences, big differences no less, but I can't do this by myself. It's super stressful as it is already so I don't even want to imagine how horrifying it would be to run it by myself."

This time Bellamy closed his book and set it in his lap. This whole getting-cheated-on thing must have been affecting Clarke's brain more than anyone had initially thought because she was complimenting him _and_ admitting that she needed him. This was harder to believe than seeing an elephant fly.

(Just kidding, but it's in the same ballpark."

"So you're saying that you were a major dick the other day because you surprised?"

"Well you make it sound really horrible when you put it like that."

He wasn't sure if it was a joke, but Bellamy laughed. Clarke quickly joined his chuckles. It was odd, because for as long as he could remember, Bellamy would stop at nothing to bring a scowl or frown to Clarke's face. And yet, here he was laughing with her while their siblings (who happened to be dating, go figure) failed miserably at soccer.

Hopefully they'll be able to stay on good terms for longer than a couple of weeks this time.

...

next chapter is gonna be homecoming! I'll try to have the next one up this week sometime

4/9/16


	14. Robot? More Like Ro-Not

**Chapter Fourteen: Robot? More like Ro-Not**

Jasper looked like a mess.

His hair was disheveled, his eyes had dark circles under them, and not even coffee seemed to keep him conscious for more than ten minutes at a time.

But Clarke thought he deserved it.

They had two and a half weeks to design and create a robot for the Regionals competition and Jasper had blown off Monty every time he tried to approach Jasper with an idea. Now after four days of constant designing, test runs, and tweaking, the two boys were able to develop a robot that at least qualified for the competition.

Clarke was more concerned about Monty who was trying hard not to doze off in her back seat. His head would bob every few seconds and then spring back up in a jolt, his eyes becoming panicked. At one point he put his head on the window and didn't move again, not even when the road got bad and the car shuddered uncomfortably.

Monty had been the one who had really committed from the beginning and had poured almost every waking thought into how he was going to pull off creating a Regionals qualifying robot while the person who got them into the mess was out prancing around with his girlfriend. Clarke must have made at least eight Starbucks runs and a few to Tim Horton's just to help keep his morale up while he and Jasper busted their butts in the basement over the last few days to finish their entry.

Clarke glanced in her rearview mirror to peak on Monty—he still hadn't moved since she looked his way a few minutes earlier—and then looked over at Jasper riding shotgun. His mouth hung open and he clutched a paper cup in one hand. It had held coffee in it less than twenty minutes earlier, but something told Clarke that it had run empty a while ago.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

Jasper cackled, his features becoming dark. "I'm too tired to be nervous."

Clarke shot him a warning look. "Don't get all snappy with me," her voice was hard, "it's your own fault that you didn't take it seriously from the beginning. Monty tried getting you to help him on more than one occasion and—"

"Yeah, I know," Jasper interrupted. They rode in silence for a minute. Clarke checked on Monty through the mirror again. Jasper discreetly looked over at Clarke and she pretended not to notice. "So, how was school?" he tried.

She blew out a large breath. A strand of blonde flapped in front of her face."Well, we have another project in European History and Finn tried being partners with me so that was awkward."

Jasper made a face. "You're not right?"

"Just because I'm disappointed in what he did doesn't mean that I'm not friends with him anymore."

"That's stupid, Clarke. Don't tell me that you still have feelings for that guy."

"I don't," she hissed defensively. The truth was, she wasn't sure how she felt towards Finn anymore. At first it was complete bliss and adoration and then it was pure hatred, both of which were strong enough feelings to keep her somewhat occupied. But now that the initial shock of the betrayal was gone, she couldn't bring herself to hating him. Deep down, she worried that she _did_ still have feelings for him and that was something she didn't want to be discussing with Jasper right now.

"I don't," she repeated, this time more calmly, and then switched the radio on to drown out her thoughts as well as Jasper's words.

The ride wasn't much longer, but she was relieved that she didn't have to listen to her brother's criticism regarding her love life. The nagging annoyance did return, however, the moment she pulled into the parking lot of Mount Weather High.

If West Arke students and Trikru students were rivals, then West Arke and Trikru were sworn enemies with Mount Weather students. They were from the wealthier side of the district, so naturally they were snobby rich kids with big attitudes. Even the teachers carried themselves as superiors to those who taught at the other high schools. Just because Mount Weather was an award winning school didn't mean that they had the right to treat everyone else in the district poorly.

Clarke turned the radio down as she put the vehicle in park. "Monty?" she said in a soft tone. Jasper was already stretching and preparing to open the door. Monty started stirring in the back. "Monty? We're here," she coaxed again, this time fully turned around in the driver's seat.

Monty jerked awake, the panic returning to his eyes. "Did we miss it? I slept through it didn't I?"

"No, dude," Jasper replied. "We just got here. Competition hasn't even started yet." Monty rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand and groaned as he stretched. Jasper furrowed his eyebrows. "Do you want to get some more coffee?"

Monty chuckled hollowly. "No way. I've had quite enough over the last few days. If I have anymore, my bladder's gonna hate me and I'll probably just pee myself."

Clarke attempted a smile, though she wasn't sure how encouraging it looked. "Alright, guys. Let's go do this so we can get home and you two can sleep."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Monty yawned. Jasper nodded his affirmative.

…

The gym where the competition was being held was really impressive—at least twice the size as the gym at West Arke—and Clarke couldn't help but get the same bitter taste in her mouth as she did when pulling into the parking lot. It was like the entire premises was toxic.

Upon entering, they were ushered to a blue table where two girls were passing out name tags to people who were participating in the event. Jasper and Monty found theirs, quickly being shepherded out of sight afterwards. As a spectator, Clarke wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do or where she was supposed to go.

She turned back to the girls at the table. One had a lean frame, short dark hair, and freckles. The other had a light skin tone, light hair, and a cheerful smile. "Excuse me?"

The light haired girl turned her radiant grin to Clarke. "Hello! My name's Keenan Mykulak. How can I assist you?"

Clarke figured that her brooding expression made her look unapproachable, especially in comparison to Keenan's excited smile. "Yeah, my brother is doing the competition—Jasper Jordan, dunno if you know him—and I don't know where I'm supposed to go?"

Keenan placed a palm on the table, leaning forward so that she could be heard easier over the noise. "They have it set up like a science fair, so you can feel free to walk around and explore the other entries. And if not, there's bleachers up top that you can rest on until you're ready to leave. This particular event isn't the most exciting one in the competition since the judges are just going to qualify the ones they deem the most promising."

Clarke nodded. "How do you tell if an entry is advancing to the next round?"

"There will be a silver sticker in the bottom left hand corner of their name page which will be at their booth."

"Cool. Thanks." Clarke grabbed a pamphlet advertising the competition and then proceeded to find the bleachers.

She did pass a couple of cool designs on her walk, one of which that was powered completely on the separation of hydrogen and oxygen atoms from their bonds as water. It wasn't that it wasn't interesting, but Clarke had never been overly big on the super technical, engineering side of science. She prefered her art and medical classes.

Clarke took the bleachers two at a time until she was seated at the very top where she could get a clear view of everything going on in the gym below her. She spotted Monty and Jasper, both looking more like zombies than people, in a middle row in the back right corner where they were demonstrating their design to a bald man with a powder-white mustache.

She watched them nervously for a few minutes as the older man scribbled a couple of notes on a clipboard and then walked off. Both Monty and Jasper had nervous frowns on their faces as they watched the man scurry off. Something told her that that wasn't a good sign.

The next time Clarke looked up from the pamphlet to check the time, she saw a face wandering the crowd that she hadn't expected to be there. Clarke wasn't sure what came over her, but suddenly she was stumbling down the bleachers and pushing herself through the crowd. She found Raven admiring a solar-powered windmill that can flip pancakes.

Clarke contemplated shouting the other girl's name to get her attention. Instead she alighted beside her casually. "I didn't know you were interested in this stuff," she said.

Raven jumped, mildly startled. When she noticed it was Clarke, Raven rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the windmill. "I could say the same about you."

"I'm not. I'm here for my brother and his friend."

"Is that so?" Raven didn't look up.

Clarke crossed her arms, debating if she should just walk away; it was clear that Raven didn't want anything to do with her, but Clarke felt it was necessary that they just cleared the air right now. "You know that I didn't know, right?"

Raven stiffened so that she was as immobile as brick. "What?"

"It's the reason you're so mad at me," she replied vaguely.

Raven whirled around, eyebrows furrowed and jaw clenched. Her hands were balled into fists. "I know you guys have a 'friendship,'" she spat, "but tell me that you weren't screwing my boyfriend while I drove forty-eight hours to be here. If you can tell me that, I'll apologize for being a bitch to you and I'll treat you like the princess everyone else in this fucking town seems too."

Clarke's face softened for a moment, and then her lips tightened into a thin line. "I'm not in charge of the school like you seem to think I—"

"Damn it, Clarke!" Raven exclaimed hoarsely. Tears burned in the corner of her eyes. Clarke felt her heart clench and in an instant she wished she hadn't seen Raven in the crowd. "Just tell me the truth, damn it! Did you screw around with Finn while I was gone?"

Clarke refused to break eye-contact. "I wish I could tell you that it wasn't true," she answered, her voice cracking, "but I didn't even know you existed!"

Raven inhaled sharply. Her hands shot to her head and began rubbing her temples as a few angry tears rolled down her cheek. "That doesn't make it okay," she snarled suddenly, directing her eyes up at Clarke.

In that instant, Clarke could feel the hate and anger being directed at her from Raven. She almost felt like she could explode, but she reminded herself that she had been played right alongside Raven. "No," Clarke said, her voice stronger than it had been, "it doesn't."

Raven uttered a growl of malice, and then turned on her heel. Her dark ponytail disappeared in the crowd before Clarke could blink.

Time had seemed to stop while she was confronting Raven, and now Clarke found herself standing near the windmill with no recollection of how much time had passed. She supposed she should make an attempt to find Jasper and Monty since she hadn't seen them in a little over an hour.

However, as soon as she stepped up toward the bleachers, she felt herself being slammed into from the side by two large forces that could only have been her brother and Monty. Secretly, Clarke was relieved she didn't have to risk running into Raven in an attempt to find them.

"Hey, guys," Clarke righted herself on her feet. She combed her fingers through her hair, hoping to appear less rattled than she felt. "How'd it go?"

Jasper broke out into a huge smile. "We advanced!"

"Really!?" Clarke felt her nerves rush away and replaced with genuine pride.

Monty showed her the silver sticker on the bottom corner of their applicant form. "Isn't it great! This old guy—"

"Let me guess," she interrupted, "with a white mustache?"

"Yeah." Jasper raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know?"

"I saw him evaluating you guys from the bleachers. Anyway, continue."

Monty related how the old judge thought that the design was impressive, though in need of some tweaking to make it more power efficient. Jasper jumped in with the details, clarifying how the judge had left in a hurry at first because he was out of stickers and wanted to get one before they were all gone, automatically eliminating them.

"We were so nervous at first," Jasper admitted. "He seemed so interested and then he just took off."

Monty smiled, cutting off a yawn. "Imagine our surprise when he came back telling us we qualified for Semi-Finals!"

Clarke smiled, slinging an arm around each of their shoulders. "Well, I'm proud of you two. How about we head home and I'll make popcorn? We have another busy day tomorrow with Homecoming."

She led them out of the gym and past the girls working the sign-in table, but Clarke couldn't help but notice that Jasper took an odd interest in the short haired girl from earlier.

...

i know i said Homecoming was next, but like an idiot i totally forgot I wrote the robotics competition as being the night before. but next one in homecoming. I promise.

4/28/16


	15. Mr Steal Your Girl

**Chapter Fifteen: Mr Steal Your Girl**

"Are you coming out or do we have to come in?"

The doorknob rattled and Clarke jumped slightly, forgetting that the door was securely locked. "Don't come in!" she hissed back through the wooden door.

"Then you come out!" Harper's pushy voice answered once again from the other side.

Clarke groaned, sizing up her reflection in the mirror. She was currently wearing what had to have been at least the twentieth dress that Harper had given to her to try on; it was a cherry red bodycon dress that was strapless from the front but with a complicated backing that left most of her back exposed.

Originally she hadn't really planned on going to the dance—she had no one to go with anyway. When Harper had caught wind of this (through Jasper, curse the little bugger) she showed up on Clarke's doorstep and forced her to go to the mall under the pretense that "Harper needed a dress."

Only once they met up with Fox in the dress department of JCPenney's did their true intentions become clear—they were going to buy Clarke a dress even if they had to wrestle her into one.

"I don't like this one," she stated bluntly, a frown forming as she stared at her reflection a little closer. She didn't like how much cleavage was showing nor how tightly pressed the fabric was against her body.

"That's what you said about the last six," Fox's voice complained this time. "At least come out and show us what you look like with it on!"

"No way!" Clarke began the process of stripping the dress until she was standing in her bra and panties. After she slipped back into her jogging shorts and t-shirt, she put the dress back on the hanger and stepped out of the dressing room.

Harper and Fox were sitting on a grey sofa, their backs to each other. Fox had a sparkly pink dress resting across her lap which Clarke assumed was the dress her friend had decided on buying. Harper jumped to her feet, giving an exasperated eyeroll as she stalked up to her friend.

"And what was wrong with this one?" she asked, snagging the hanger from Clarke to admire it again.

Clarke raised her eyebrows in the slightest look of annoyance. "It was too tight and was showing off more skin than I want."

Harper grunted, biting the tip of her pinky finger. "You would have looked _so_ good in this though…" she murmured under her breath.

Now it was Clarke's turn to roll her eyes. "Oh please. It made me look like a psychotic prostitute. Besides, I don't even want to go. There's no point wasting money on a dress when I'm not going to wear it anyway."

Harper looked like she had gotten punched in the gut. Then she got this hardened look in her eyes that made Clarke a tad nervous. "Geez, Clarke! We've been planning this stupid dance for two months and _now_ you're going to miss it?"

Clarke shrugged, hoping that she was pulling off the puppy dog eyes that Jasper was always using. "Well, I don't have a date and what's the use—"

"—then go with Bellamy," Fox interrupted. Clarke pivoted to face her friend; there's no way she heard that correctly was there? Did she really just suggest _Bellamy_ as a date option? Fox cocked her head to one side and continued, "You guys are friends now aren't you?"

Clarke could tell that that her nose was twitching, but whether it was out of anger or embarrassment she wasn't sure. After all... _Bellamy_? "Sure we're friends, if you could say that," she said after a few moments of smoldering. Harper had a smug grin on her face that Clarke wanted to slap right off. "But just because we aren't trying to strangle each other doesn't mean that I _want him_ to be my date to the dance!"

"You guys would look so—" Fox began.

"—finish that sentence, and I'll walk straight out of here. Won't buy a dress, and definitely won't go to that dance," Clarke finished threateningly. She felt kind of bad about it, but she was over this topic. She didn't like Bellamy like that and never would.

"Okay, fine," Harper dropped the subject and her smile disappeared simultaneously. "But honestly, you don't need a date to go, you know. We're all just going to be hanging out in groups anyway." She set the dress down on the sofa and crossed her arms. "So could you _pleeease_ find a dress that you like and then I'll pay for it if it means you going to the dance with us!"

Clarke sighed to herself, averting her eyes from her friend.

Couldn't they take the hint and realize she just wasn't over Finn yet? He was going to be there with Raven, having a merry ol' time while she would have to stand off to the side while she stuffed her face with whatever finger foods were set out. And why bother with that if she could be eating popcorn and watching Marvel movies with Jasper and Monty all…

Wait. Jasper and Monty were going to the dance! That would mean she'd be home alone with just her mom and Marcus!

Clarke groaned. She really didn't want to be alone no matter how much she didn't want to go to the stupid dance and see stupid Finn and Raven getting all cuddly….

"Fine," she grumbled. Based off the way Harper's cheeks inflated with air while her eyes sparkled, Clarke got the impression that she was trying not to jump up and down and scream in excitement. "I'll go find one and then I'll bring it back to show you."

"You don't want us to come with you?" Fox asked, narrowing her eyes skeptically.

Harper put one hand firmly on her hip. "You better not be skipping out on us because so help me I will buy the ugliest dress I can find, wrestle you into it, and force you to—"

"—Calm down," the blonde snapped with an exasperated grin. "I'm not going to bail. I just want to think while I do it." She turned and headed deeper into the department store, pretty sure that she heard Harper mutter "Ya weirdo" after her.

If she was being forced into getting a dress, Clarke already knew she wanted it to be navy blue. The last time she had to wear a dress was for a wedding on her dad's side of the family and he had insisted that navy blue brought out the color of her eyes the best. This time she wanted navy blue for her father, not because she wanted her eyes to stand out.

If it was her choice, she would just fade into the background so that her observations would go unnoticed.

Then a familiar face jumped out at her from near the other set of women's change rooms. At first she wasn't sure if she was just hallucinating but as she moved closer, she could tell it was definitely him. "Lincoln?"

Said boy was leaning up against the doorframe that led into the change room, but he kept his distance from any of the doors even though his eyes were intently set on one door in particular. When he heard his name, he cautiously spun around to find the owner of the voice but smiled when he recognized Clarke. "Clarke Griffin! Haven't seen you in forever!"

Clarke laughed, accepting the hug that he initiated. "I know! Do you know if you got into Columbia yet?"

Lincoln rubbed the back of his neck as he shook his head. "Not yet. You?"

"Nothing. But they should be sending letters out soon."

Clarke and Lincoln had met the summer of Sophomore year when then both took internships as secretaries at the same doctor's office. Initially the two had started out as rivals considering TriKru Union and West Arke were sworn enemies, but by the end of the summer the two had bonded through their interest in medicine and love for drawing. They ended up working together again the summer of Junior year, but they hadn't seen each other since the middle of August.

Clarke nodded toward the dressing room. "Waiting on someone?"

Lincoln cracked a rare smile—two in one day, must be a record, she thought. "Yeah," he said, "she's trying on some stuff. TriKru's Homecoming is today."

"Oh yeah? So's West Arke's!"

"Is that why you're here too, then? Picking out a dress for later?"

Clarke rolled her eyes, a flame of annoyance resurfacing in her stomach. "Yeah. I really don't want too, but my friends are forcing me to go."

Lincoln cocked his head to one side. "Really? Why don't you want to go?"

Clarke stared at him blankly for a second. Should she tell him? He was her friend but then again, they weren't super close. "It's a long story," she decided finally. "But I'm looking for something navy blue. Seen anything worth my time?"

"No, I haven't," he paused, eyebrows forming a line. Then he pulled a dress the perfect shade of navy blue from the discard rack. "Some girls earlier were trying stuff on and this was a reject. It's the only navy blue one that I've seen."

Even though she hated to admit it, Clarke was impressed by the dress and was actually eager to try it on. If Harper or Fox could see the dopey grin on her face right now, she'd never be able to live it down. "Thanks, Lincoln," she said, regaining her composure though the ghost of a smile remained, "it's perfect. I'd better go meet back up with my friends before they think I ditched them."

"Okay," Lincoln nodded. Just as Clarke turned to leave, he touched her elbow softly. "Hey, Clarke," Clarke glanced at him as he released her arm, "don't be a stranger, okay?"

She smiled. "Sure thing."

Clarke, excited to show off a dress that she actually liked, sped walked down the aisle ways completely unaware that Octavia heard every word from the dressing room.

…

Bellamy was hot.

No, not _that_ kind of hot. Between the crappy air conditioning, the hundreds of people dancing around, and the intense lighting system, Bellamy felt like he was suffocating. It didn't help that he was wearing long pants and a long sleeved shirt on top of it.

How did he get himself roped into going to this stupid dance again?

He should have just said no to the bet. Who cared if Miller had put him on the spot in front of the entire class? He should have stifled his pride so he wouldn't have to go to a stupid dance. Not to mention he bumped into Roma on the way in with her new boyfriend making things about a hundred times more awkward.

"Dude, what are you doing over here?" Murphy came up alongside his friend. His hair was pushed back and his forehead was glossy, but over all he looked like he was having a good time. "I haven't seen you move from this corner since we got here."

Bellamy shrugged. "I didn't really want to come in the first place. And Roma is here."

Murphy rolled his eyes. "So what? You already had the awkward confrontation and now it's over. Move on. Don't dwell on something as stupid as that."

"That was...actually insightful, Murphy."

"I'm not as stupid as everyone seems to think." He smirked. "By the way, have you seen Monroe anywhere?"

Bellamy reached for a mini-hotdog thing from the table. "Pretty sure I saw her and Miller together. Why?"

"No reason. I just haven't seen her yet."

"Oh John!" Bellamy recognized Emori in the crowd of dancers, waving a beckoning hand in his and Murphy's direction. Her black sleeveless dress matched Murphy's black button down.

"I think your girlfriend is summoning you," Bellamy commented dryly.

"No shit. See ya later, man." And then Murphy shuffled off with Emori, leaving Bellamy alone again.

He was considering on just leaving when he was joined by Wells, Sterling, and Finn. Even though he didn't particularly like Wells, he was grateful for the company. He could care less about the other two, especially Finn.

"You guy weren't feeling this dance either, then?" he quipped as the other three settled around him.

Sterling shrugged. "Fox hasn't shown up yet."

"Raven is in the bathroom," Finn said, picking at some chips on the table.

"Clarke isn't here yet," Wells murmured quietly. Bellamy snorted at that but didn't say anything. He had a feeling it was a slim to no chance that Clarke would even acknowledge the boy's presence but he decided he had whatever was coming to him.

The other boys started talking sports and other crap that Bellamy has no interest in, so he began zoning out. He was thinking about his cozy bed and how much more comfortable a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt would be than the stupid outfit he was wearing now when a voice startled him out of his thoughts.

"You look just as pumped about being here as I do," Clarke said flatly. For the first time, Bellamy noticed that Sterling was gone and Harper was chatting it up with Finn and Wells, though Wells kept glancing at Clarke the way he always does.

He narrowed his eyes at her and then sighed. "I'd honestly rather be at home, but somehow my idiot friends dragged me here."

Clarke snorted. "I guess we have something else in common, then."

She crossed her arms over her chest and Bellamy got a good look at her for the first time since she appeared beside him. Her hair was done up in a braided up-do with a ribbon that matched the color of her dress. Silver, lacy embroidered swirls decorated the corset. He'd have to admit, she did clean up nice for being such an uptight bitch all the time…

"Hey, Clarke," Wells stepped between Bellamy and Clarke, effectively making Bellamy want to punch him in his perfect teeth. Didn't he see that the princess was busy talking to him right now? "I was wondering if you wanted to dance? With me? Maybe?"

This is it, Bellamy thought as a smug smirk took over his face. Wells was going to fall flat on his face when she told him no.

"Uh, sure, I guess," she said, taking his hand.

Bellamy tried to keep his jaw from dropping. He didn't hear that right, did he? Clarke approved of Wells being in close proximity of her? There was no way...but the proof was evident as she walked off with him into the crowd of people.

Apparently he wasn't the only one surprised, because Bellamy caught Finn watching them just as curiously even when Raven came back.

Something told him the night wasn't going to end on a positive note for those two.

…

Raven brushed a strand of hair over her shoulder as she made her way from the bathroom.

Maybe she should have worn her hair up afterall. All of her hair was sticking to the back of her neck and shoulder blades from sweat. Couldn't they turn the air on in this place or were they purposefully trying to suffocate them?

She promised herself that she'd have to take a look at the system in her spare time because there was no way she would spend time in a school that had a faulty ventilation system.

She stopped short as she re-entered the gym; she found Finn almost instantly, but he was in the far right corner with Bellamy, Wells, Harper….and Clarke. Not that she meant for it to happen, but rage suddenly swelled in Raven's stomach and she was ready to bust some heads.

Why was he always looking to her like a lost puppy? What did she have that made her so special while Raven didn't?

She calmed down considerably when Clarke walked off with Wells. At least now Finn wouldn't ask her to dance or anything...he wouldn't do that, right?

Raven darted through the crowd towards her boyfriend and Bellamy who had a dumbfounded look on his face. "Hey Spacewalker," she greeted Finn with a kiss. His eyes barely focused on her, still looking out past Bellamy. She tugged on his collar forcefully so that he was looking down at her. "What's so interesting?"

Finn cleared his throat, forcing a weak smile. "It's just weird that Clarke went off with Wells, don't you think?"

Raven fought back an eyeroll. "Uh, no? Yes? I don't know this school's gossip." He opened his mouth to begin the story from the top but Raven silenced him with her mouth. "I don't want to know," she whispered heatedly. "All I want is you."

Finn seemed to weaken at that a little bit, which satisfied her. At least she still had _some_ effect on him.

"Let's dance, Spacewalker." She led him by his tie, earning a raised eyebrow from Bellamy as they walked past him.

She made sure that they kept a distance from where Wells was spinning a very happy looking Clarke. The last thing Raven needed was for Finn to drift over to them, though she had to admit it was kind of interesting to see the blonde look so carefree opposed to the frown she usually wore.

Raven was pleased when Finn finally seemed to focus on her and only her. He spun her, held her close, kissed her nose and forehead. Her anxiety about the whole thing started to diminish. Then Finn turned around and saw Clarke slow dancing with _Bellamy_ and suddenly his mood seemed to darken.

The two looked slightly awkward, like they had been forced to do it. Then Clarke whispered something and Bellamy's face erupted in a grin. Finn's fist clenched.

"You love her," Raven said, dropping her hand to her side from where it had been laced around his bicep. She didn't have to talk too loudly to be heard over the music since it was _Thinking Out Loud_ by Ed Sheeran. Finn whirled around, looking perplexed. "Don't you?"

Tears threatened her as he stared her down. "What?" he asked, taking her hands into his again, "How could you ask something like that? I _love_ you."

The first tear rolled down her cheek and she mentally scolded herself for not being strong enough to hide them. She didn't want him to see her cry. "But...not the way you love Clarke, right?"

"Love Clarke?" he exclaimed. He used the back of his hand to wipe her tears away. At one point, he would have just cupped her face and kissed her to make it better; at one time, it didn't take _words_ to make her understand. "Raven, I've only known her for a few months. How could I be in love with her?"

"The way you look at her gives you away," she whispered, pulling her hand away from his to wipe her own face. She looked at the floor. "You've always been a walking book, Finn. Don't try to lie to me."

"I've never been a walking book."

"I've always known what you were thinking and that's what matters." She inhaled deeply, then looked up at him. Her make-up was probably all smeared down her cheeks now. _Great_. "It's over, Finn."

He looked like he just got stabbed in the stomach. "What? No. Raven, I—"

"—I'm sorry," she sniffled, regaining strength in her voice as she stared him down, "but this isn't going to work anymore. We'll always be family, okay? But you're never going to be there for me the way I'd need you to be."

Raven turned and fled, hoping he would chase after her or call her name. But there was nothing.

…

"Don't you think it's kind of funny how Bellamy wore a navy blue shirt that matches Clarke's dress completely by accident?" Monty asked. He and Jasper were sitting up on the bleachers watching out over the entire dance.

Jasper shrugged. "I really don't care. It was a complete fluke. It's not like they like each other or anything."

Monty yawned, nodding in agreement. He was still tired from the robotics tournament the night before. He would have rather skipped the dance in favor of a movie night and getting to bed early, but Jasper had dragged him here anyway. And to make matters worse, they hadn't done anything since arriving except stay up in the bleachers scanning the crowd for Octavia.

Almost two hours Monty sat with his best friend, waiting for a girl that he had a sneaking suspicion wouldn't show up. If she wasn't here in the first hour, then she wasn't coming. But Jasper didn't seem to think that way.

"She should be here soon," Jasper murmured, face in his hands as he watched the crowd.

Monty sighed. "That's what you've been saying this whole time. She's not coming, Jasper."

Jasper glared at Monty. "She _will_ be here, dude."

"Did you ever actually ask her to come with you to the dance?"

"Well, no...but I just assumed that—"

"Wait, so are you guys actually officially going out?"

Jasper's face burned bright red. "No, not exactly. She kissed me that one time and she held my hand a couple of times, but that's it."

Monty groaned in exasperation. "Then she's still on the market, Jasper! Just because Clarke and Bellamy keep saying you two are together doesn't make it official! You and Octavia have to decide that!"

"And we will!" Jasper shot back defensively.

Monty rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude," he said, standing up.

Jasper's eyes widened. "You're leaving me?"

"Yep," Monty answered shortly, "I'm going to go dance with Clarke before Finn tries swooping in again."

And with that, Monty clomped down the steps and slipped his hand into Clarke's and pulled her along with him just as Finn was about to. Clarke laughed, looking pleased by his presence. _Score_.

From off to the side, he heard Bellamy say "Mr. Steal Your Girl, huh?" to Finn who looked annoyed.

Monty grinned.

...

took long enough for me to update, eh?

7/26/16


	16. Big Problem

**Chapter Sixteen: Big Problem**

Wells could barely move the next morning.

His feet and legs were sore from dancing, but mostly his head spun because _damn, Clarke had danced with him!_

Back in September, Wells never would have never thought that Clarke would ever come within touching distance of him ever again, let alone dance with him! But it had happened, and even if she had spent most of the night with Monty, Harper, and Fox, for Wells those three minutes that Clarke was delicately pressed against his body was enough.

He could even overlook the bitter taste he got in his mouth when he watched her dance with Bellamy. The only consolation that Wells could get out of that one was the pained look that Finn also wore.

Lifting his face from where it was smashed against his comforter, Wells peered out toward the door that led to his master bathroom. He really didn't want to get up. Like, at _all_. Sleep sounded much more pleasureable at this point, but skipping a shower in favor of going straight to bed the night before was coming back to kick him in the butt.

Plus it was nearly noon already and he couldn't waste the day away!

Eventually his inner type-A personality won over and he rolled out of bed. After his shower, Wells crept down the stairs to the kitchen, although he wasn't sure why he was being so quiet. His dad was rarely home, and even if he was, the house was big enough as to where his dad couldn't hear him from his room.

"Love being me," Wells grumbled, plopping down at the table with a box of cereal in one hand and a bowl in the other.

Despite what most people seemed to believe, Wells wasn't necessarily _happy_ by the fact his father ran the school district because what they didn't realize was that his father doubled as a lawyer. Sure it was cool to live in a big house and be well off, but at what cost?

Thelonious had always been kind of done his own thing, but ever since Wells' mother died, he had become so elusive to the point where Wells had spent a good part of the last seven years alone. Every once in awhile a maid would be hired by his father, and Wells would have someone to talk to. But eventually that maid would have to leave and Wells would be left alone again.

That's when Clarke walked into Wells' life and things started to get better. They had developed a strong friendship in middle school that only strengthened over their love for school and great dislike for Bellamy Blake. (Even if that last one is tedious right now.)

Clarke was his only friend for a long while. She would come over to his house and together they would work on their homework until all they saw when they blinked was equations and formulas. Then they'd settle down on the couch with juice boxes and play Mario Kart until Jake came to pick her up.

Then one day she came over with Jasper. Another day she brought Monty. And then another time, Harper had fallen into the mix. Suddenly, he wasn't so lonely anymore.

Then he went and made that stupid mistake of ratting on Jake thinking that he was _helping_ him out.

Wells laughed bitterly, dumping his empty bowl and spoon into the sink as he deserted the kitchen. In retrospect, he should have realized that everyone he had come to view as a friend would turn on him considering they had all been loyal friends to Clarke first.

But that didn't even matter now because _she_ danced with _him_ last night. Maybe things would finally start getting back to a somewhat-normal.

Fully clean and drunk on memories, Wells started up for his room to work on some homework he had put off when one of the rarely hired maids stopped him. "Your mail, sir."

"Thanks," he said, accepting the mail. He had long ago given up trying to convince the outside help to stop referring to him so formally because they never listen. She just expects him to take the mail to his father's room because she's afraid of Thelonious. Most people seemed to be. "I'll get this to him."

She nods and then scurries off, probably to do the two dishes newly in the sink.

Wells snorts, taking the stairs two at a time as he began to rifle through the several envelopes in his hand. He normally doesn't snoop through his father's mail, but today he was feeling extra rebellious. As he expected, most of them were bills, solicitations, and other official paperwork items but one caught his attention.

What was a contracting business doing writing his dad?

It would become what Bellamy called _one for the history books because, damn, Wells Jaha committed a felony?_

It may not have been the best idea to rip the envelope away from the letter tucked inside, but the minute he read through the first few lines, he didn't even care that he would undoubtedly get in trouble.

In fact, he was borderline speechless except for four words that slipped out in horrified desperation:

"I've gotta tell Clarke!"

…

"Oh get over it, you big baby."

Monty felt that he had been thinking that line in his head a lot lately, but he finally got the opportunity to use it today. It felt good.

Jasper, predictably, groaned against the counter top. "She didn't show up!"

Monty sighed, shooting an exasperated look at Clarke who merely shrugged from her spot behind the stove. "You've been repeating that ever since you woke up. You need to get a grip, man," Monty scolded.

In fact, Jasper had been groaning in his sleep about it too, but Monty didn't feel the need to bring it up at this point. It's like Jasper would acknowledge anything other than _She didn't show up!_ Anyways.

Jasper mumbled his famous line against the counter again. Clarke pursed her lips. "Monty is right Jasper," she decided after a second of hesitation. "I know you're upset but you can't keep pissing and moaning about it."

"You don't understand!" Jasper shot up from his seat, making Monty jump back in surprise. This was the most Jasper had moved all day, other than dragging him from his room to the kitchen. He still hadn't showered. "She has been excited about _Homecoming_ for weeks! She's been yammering on about the dress she bought for weeks! And then she complained about needing the new one because the color was wrong! I know she was going to go!"

"Do you think she went to one of the other school's homecoming?" Clarke asked bluntly.

Monty opened his mouth but closed it when he realized that he didn't have anything to say. The thought had never crossed his mind but it did seem plausible, especially since he knew that Trikru had their homecoming the night before as well.

Jasper looked more traumatized than thoughtful. "How can you say that?" he demanded angrily, eyebrows furrowed. "Why would she skip out on us for a rival school? Octavia isn't like that!"

Clarke raised her eyebrows as she took a sip of her coffee. "Calm down, Jasper. It was just a suggestion."

"I don't think he really wants his problem solved," Monty muttered in annoyance.

Jasper frowned at him. "Shut up, Monty."

Monty glared, but said nothing. A heavy silence settled between them, something that had been happening a lot, Monty noticed. Clarke cleared her throat as she set a plate of steaming eggs, toast, and turkey bacon in front of each of the boys.

"Okay," she said, uncharacteristically cheerful. Monty figured she was just trying to diffuse the situation. "Just eat up while I," she paused when a pounding came from the front of the house," answer the door, I guess."

Monty peaked his head out of the kitchen. He was mildly surprised when Wells was the one at the door with a look of anger. Straining his ears, the words he caught made Monty's stomach drop.

"Clarke, we have a big problem."

...

9/5/16


	17. Theoretical Solutions

Bellamy felt mildly uncomfortable.

It was one thing to be on good terms with Clarke at school, but a few months ago he never would have pictured himself sitting in her living room with a bagel and glass of milk in hand. Then again, a lot had happened in the last few weeks that he never would have expected either.

One of those things, for example, being the reason why almost everyone from Student Council were piled on Clarke's couch so early on the day following Homecoming.

Bellamy had planned on staying in bed most of Sunday, catch up on his anime, and promptly ignore the lab report that was due on Wednesday. He was almost ready to skin Clarke alive when her phone call woke him up, but then she told him that there was a mandatory Stu-Co meeting at her house in half an hour and that there were going to be bagels.

He only ended up going because of the bagels; Bellamy figured that Clarke was just overreacting to some small mishap that happened at Homecoming or something. Imagine his surprise when he found out that the superintendent, Wells' dad, was planning on selling the school's property for a parking garage to be built.

Bellamy wiggled his way forward on the couch, shoving Miller in the side with his elbow. "Will you scoot over a bit?" he grumbled.

Miller shot him a look. "It's not my fault that Clarke's couch is so small! Tell Harper to scoot over!"

Harper growled their way from the other side of Bellamy. "I'm as far over as I can be! If you're not happy, then you can sit on the damn floor!"

"Could you guys knock it off?" Finn muttered from the recliner on the other side of the room. His eyes were heavy like he hadn't slept well and his chin rested on his fisted hand. "It's too early for all of this noise."

Bellamy regarded him with a hard stare, but Finn barely noticed. Not that Bellamy cared for Finn's well being, but he couldn't help but note that something was off with him. He had showed up to Clarke's last and had wordlessly dropped himself into the recliner over half an hour ago. Raven wasn't here either and she was always stuck to him like glue.

He shook his head, reminding himself that he didn't care, and took a massive bite out of his bagel. Clarke appeared in the doorway with Wells at her heels. Neither of them looked too good; Bellamy was pretty sure that he had never seen Clarke look so defeated.

Harper and Miller quit their squabbling when Clarke sat down on the floor, completing their circle. "Well, this totally sucks," she mumbled, pulling her knees up to her chest.

For a second, Bellamy was worried she might start bawling but she didn't. Wells cleared his throat. "So, what are we going to do about this?" He dropped the envelope on the floor in front of him.

Harper sighed, relaxing her muscles so that Bellamy could feel her arm pushing into his side. "I guess there's not much we really can do at this point. Didn't it say that it's scheduled for May of this year?"

"Right before graduation," Clarke murmured sadly. Bellamy wondered why his stomach did a somersault just by the sadness in her voice.

"That's still a long ways away," Miller traced his finger around the rim of his glass, "—there's gotta be something we can do to stop it."

"Like what?" Finn asked, perking up slightly.

"Seriously, there's no way. Do you know how many thousands of dollars we'd have to raise?" Harper shook her head.

Wells growled down at the carpet, surprising Bellamy. He wasn't used to Wells being so aggressive. Normally he just frowned when he was upset. "I can't believe my dad thinks this is a good idea."

"That's a good point, Wells," Miller's eyes locked in on Wells who suddenly switched back to the pacifist Bellamy was used to. "This is your dad's fault, so in a way, it's your fault too."

Wells' jaw dropped. Finn held up his hands in a T. "Miller, don't—"

"No, no," Miller snapped, scooting forward so that he was barely sitting on the couch anymore. "Why can't you talk to him? Get him to change his mind? You're the mini superintendent! Get your shit together and fix this!"

Wells scowled up at Miller. "It's not that simple."

"The superintendent is a dick," Bellamy turned his look to Wells for a second, "no offence. But even if Wells did try to get him to change his mind, he wouldn't. That letter said that Jaha was selling the school for two hundred thousand dollars so he needs the money. He's not just going to roll over and let that slip."

"Which is why Miller was right and we should raise the money." Finn sat up, making it the most amount of movement he had done since he got there. "We could get the school in on it."

Bellamy snorted in disbelief. "Have you met our school, Spacewalker? No one gives a damn about anything. No one wanted to join the stupid Quiz Bowl and no one is going to care that the school will be demolished. Hell, they may even _welcome_ a new parking garage!"

Suddenly Clarke's head shot up, her eyes wide in a frenzy while her hair stuck up awkwardly. Her quick movements nearly startled him enough to jump. "Bellamy, say that again," she commanded eagerly.

"What?" he asked. "'Hell, they may even-"

"No, the other thing. You said Quiz Bowl."

"Yes. Don't remind me."

"Isn't the deadline, like, this Friday?" Harper gasped.

Clarke ignored her, a small smile starting to sprout. "Isn't the grand prize for the Quiz Bowl an impressive of money?"

"And scholarships," Wells added automatically, but then his face blanked for a moment before widening into a smile. "Oh my God, you're such a genius."

"Not really. I never would have thought of it without Bellamy."

Bellamy's eyebrows furrowed as his stomach flipped again. Why did that compliment strike such a chord with him? But Clarke had already forgotten her words and sat up on her heels, looking more and more lively by the second.

"Alright guys," Clarke rocked back onto her heels, "I have a plan." Color was returning to her pale face and that familiar stubborn gleam was back in her eyes. "It might be a little far fetched, but at this point we don't have a choice."

Bellamy munched on his bagel diligently as he and the rest of the council listened to the blonde's idea. Basically, they would be killing two birds with one stone— since at this point Stu-Co was going to have to fill in for the Quiz Bowl anyway, if they were able to some how manage to take first place, they may have a chance at saving the school.

"I hate to be the barer of bad news," Finn interjected. Clarke's eyes darkened as she nodded slowly, giving him permission to speak. Finn paused, keeping his eyes fixed on Clarke, then continued, "but even if we did win, we'd still be short. There's no way we can do this without some kind of fundraising."

Clarke's lips pursed to the side in thought. The storminess in her eyes dissipated slightly and for a minute, Bellamy was afraid that she might side with Finn. Her eyes shifted over to Wells who sat up straighter. "Wells," she hummed, "could you set up a meeting with your dad?"

Wells looked just as confused as Bellamy felt. "What?"

"If we could set up some sort of deal," she mused further, "then maybe we can convince him to quit the contract."

Harper perked up a bit. "Like dropping the total a couple thousand dollars?"

"That'd be the plan."

Wells scratched the back of his neck. "I can try talking to him. I can't guarantee that he'll change his mind but at the very least I know that I can set up a meeting. Besides," he glanced at Clarke, "you and my dad already know each other, so there's no way he'd pass up a chance to catch up with you."

Instinctively, Bellamy switched his primary attention from his phone to Clarke. He knew that she and Wells were starting to patch up their broken relationship, but that last comment of his had come off weird...almost like his tone was giving way to his longing for her. It Bellamy uncomfortable so he assumed she would be too, but Clarke merely flicked her eyes to the ground without any kind of reprimand.

For some reason, that really irked him. Judging by the hurt look that Finn was trying to mask, he was displeased too.

"Do you guys really think we can pull this off?" Miller propped his chin up in his hands.

The question caught Bellamy a little off guard. It wasn't necessarily addressed to him, but everyone seemed to be waiting for his answer, like he was the one who had the final say on the subject. The plan was flawed and he recognized that, but when he met Clarke's intense but pleading stare he found himself being sucked in.

Even if they did crash and burn, at least they'd go out with a bang. And no one would be able to say that he didn't try.

"I'm in."

…

Octavia was tired of PB&J.

And yet, she still found herself spreading peanut butter and raspberry jam on bread for her lunch. She really needed to learn how to cook. PB&J used to be her favorite after school snack but ever since Bellamy started going out of the house more, Octavia was forced to fend for herself most days.

Sometimes her mom or Bellamy would leave something hot for her to eat in the oven, but that was becoming rare. Even though it was a tad annoying, Octavia mostly felt exhilarated. For most of her life, Bellamy had always been breathing down her neck and hovering to make sure she was safe or getting good grades or filling some sort of expectation of his. But now that he was busy most of the time, she was left to her own devices.

Mostly that consisted of either practicing her newly acquired martial arts or making out with Lincoln.

Octavia grinned into her sandwich as she took a bite. Even thinking about Lincoln made her heart flutter and her stomach flip. Not only was he the hottest guy she'd ever met, but he was also the smartest and most mature guy she'd ever met.

Sometimes she got really fed up that she had to keep him a secret from Bellamy and her mom, but most of the time it seemed like a giant fairy tail— she was Juliet and he was Romeo, and Bellamy was Tybalt, always trying to ruin everything.

The sneaking around was fun and the martial arts training was paying off. Octavia had successfully been able to sneak out for hours past curfew on school nights right under Bellamy's nose a few times now. Lincoln warned her not to abuse her new talents, but she couldn't help herself. She had spent way too much time being cooped up in the house and now was her time to be free. Soccer had been how she had cut loose for the longest time, but she felt even more in control of her emotions and body when in a martial arts stance.

Keys rattled in the door from the main entry hall. Wiping crumbs off of her face, Octavia stretched her toes up toward the ceiling from her awkward position on the floor. Bellamy appeared a second later with a white bad in hand. "How was the meeting at Clarke's house?"

Bellamy regarded her with a smile that was a cross somewhere between amused and concerned. "It was eventful. I have work in half an hour and I need to shower, so I'll have to update you later." He set his bag on the counter.

Sitting up from her crunched ball position, Octavia peered over the couch and into the kitchen. "Bell, what's in the bag?"

"Thai rice!" he called from his room. He walked through the living room towards the bathroom a second later with a towel and pile of clothes. "Figured you'd be hungry."

"I am." Octavia pushed herself up, then bounded to the kitchen. That PB&J did very little to satisfy her gnawing hunger pains. "This smells good."

"It better," Bellamy scoffed. "Cost twenty bucks and a thirty minute wait just for that little take out box so enjoy it."

"I will, don't worry."

"Oh, and by the way, Jasper has been asking about you. You should probably take care of whatever it is you've been ignoring." Octavia stopped stuffing her face with food and turned to her brother, but Bellamy was already retreating down the hallway towards the bathroom.

What did he mean by that? She wasn't avoiding Jasper.

Sure, she may not have been hanging out with him outside of soccer as much anymore, but that was only because she had limited amount of time with Lincoln and didn't want to waste even a minute that she could spend with him.

Octavia bit her lower lip, suddenly not feeling so hungry. She was going to have to set things straight with Jasper. She was going to need to tell him her true feelings.

But first, she needed to talk to Monty.

...

finally the main plot gets introduced

11/8/16


	18. Confrontations

**Chapter Eighteen: Confrontations**

"Oh. It's you."

The blunt, rather rude greeting left Octavia feeling more stunned than mad. In all of the years that she had known Monty, not once had he ever looked this pissed, especially not at her. It was weird, slightly scary, and she did not like it. "I'm sorry," she murmured, shouldering her bag as she took a step back. "Maybe I should talk—"

"No," he cut her off, rubbing his eyes. Octavia paused in her retreat, watching him closely. He jerked the door open wider, just enough for her to make out the pile of laundry at the base of the staircase. "You can come in if you want, but I can't be held accountable for any radiation poisoning."

Octavia fixed him with a hard look. "What's your problem? Have I offended you in some way?"

Monty sighed deeply, running a hand down his face. This time Octavia noticed the dark circles around his eyes. "Not you directly," he admitted. He offered a dry smile, but Octavia didn't find it comforting. "You haven't talked to Jasper recently, have you?"

The sudden switch of conversation made Octavia uncomfortable. "That's kind of why I'm here to talk to you."

Monty peaked over his shoulder into the house as if to make sure no one was watching, and then he stepped out onto the front porch, closing the door behind him gently. "You need to be straight with him about how you feel." His voice was calm but his eyes were intense.

By nature, Octavia had always been fearless; she'd put a snake's head in her mouth on a dare, gone up against some pretty big guys in soccer, and now she was starting to take on more experienced challengers in martial arts. The only difference was that none of those things had made her squirm as much as she was as she stood under Monty's firm stare.

She was so used to doing things that concerned only herself; having other people's feelings riding on her was nerve wracking.

"I know I do," Octavia replied when she finally found her voice again. "How," she paused for a moment, "how is he doing?"

"A train wreck," Monty said. "What did you have that was so important that you stood him up at homecoming?"

Octavia ignored his accusing tone, instead trying to keep her eyes level with his. "I went to TriKru's homecoming. It was the same night."

Monty's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing into slits. She supposed he would have been scarier if it weren't for the way he was swaying back in forth in exhaustion. "You chose a _Grounder_ over Jasper?"

"Hey," Octavia snapped. "Jasper never asked me. And that _Grounder_ is my boyfriend so back off!"

Octavia realized her slip the moment Monty's angered expression went blank. She shouldn't have said that. What was he going think? What if he told Bellamy? Lincoln was her secret, the one part of her life that belonged to her and only her. If it somehow got back to her brother, all hell would break lose.

She considered denying it, but at this point there was no use. She had hesitated too long.

"Well, then," Monty's soft words surprised her. When she met his eyes, he didn't look angry. It was more like...disappointment. "I suggest you tell that to Jasper. Because if you don't stop leading him on like this, I'm going to take care of it myself."

Octavia wanted to be mad.

She wanted to be mad at Mony for the way he basically scolded her and threatened her. She wanted to be mad when he walked back inside the house without another word and closed the door in her face. She wanted to be mad at the disappointed look he gave her.

But she couldn't.

…

"I'm bringing muffins for bribery purposes if all else fails."

Bellamy glanced over at Clarke who was climbing into the passenger side of his car. Her hair was braided off to the side and she wore a classy sweater. "Can I have one?" He reached over toward the basket of muffins in her lap before she responded, but Clarke slapped his hand away before he could grab one.

"These aren't for you," she said dryly, but her eyes held a certain humour to them.

Bellamy rolled his eyes at her. "Come on, Clarke. I didn't have breakfast."

"Maybe you should eat breakfast next time then."

"Maybe if you hadn't scheduled this meeting to be so early, I would have been able to."

"Don't blame your poor time management skills on me." Using his peripheral vision, Bellamy noticed Clarke wrap one of the muffins in a napkin and set it in the cup holder closest to him. "I'll give you an ugly one," she said, "but only because you're giving me a ride there."

Bellamy didn't feel it necessary to say outloud that he would have driven her anywhere as long as she wasn't with Finn or Wells. "What happened to your car anyway?"

"Jasper," was her one worded answer. Bellamy chose not to comment any further.

Most of the ride constituted of small talk regarding upcoming student council events as well as jamming out to Queen and Boston. Despite how early he had to get up that morning, Bellamy was in a pretty good mood during the ride. It wasn't until Clarke instructed him to pull into a winding driveway that led to an enormous house that had to be worth more each month than what Bellamy has made in his entire life thus far.

"So this is where the junior superintendent spends his time, then, huh?" Bellamy's mouth felt dry as he parked the car—the driveway was so big that there were _actual drawn out parking spaces_. "I can't believe how spoiled this kid is."

"Yeah, well, he spends most of his time alone." Clarke unclipped her seatbelt and flung the door open.

Bellamy frowned, climbing out of the car after her. Wells was waiting for them on the porch, if it could even be called that; there were about fifteen marble steps that led to the landing and two huge pillars that supported the roof on either side of the door. Bellamy felt more like he was walking into a national monument than someone's house.

"Welcome!" Wells pulled his hands out of his hoody pocket. "I was watching out the window for you. I see you've brought Bellamy."

Bellamy could've sworn he heard contempt in Wells' voice, but perhaps he was just being moody. Clarke nodded toward the door, as if prompting Wells to open it. "He's co-president of student council, Wells. Of course I brought him with me," she said.

Ballamy snorted smugly at Wells' dumbstruck expression, but he recovered from it quickly which was boring for Bellamy. "My dad is up in his study waiting for us."

Clarke shuffled past him and down the hallway with her muffin basket hanging from her arm. She clearly knew the way to the study because she had no hesitations in leading the three of them through the giant house. Bellamy on the other hand had to spend most of the walk with his eyes trained completely on the back of Clarke's blonde head. Every time he glanced around to take in his surroundings he'd only get more angry about how nice the house was in comparison to what his mother and sister were forced to live in.

"You're more loaded than I thought you were, Jaha," Bellamy mumbled. Wells shot him a look as Bellamy expected he would, but he just ignored it. Wells wasn't particularly terrifying.

When they reached a pair of intricately carved wood doors, Clarke shoved them open without so much as a knock. Even when intense, Clarke was usually super polite so this no-nonsense, breaking down doors thing was a little new to him. It pained him to admit it, but it was kind of cool.

"Thelonious," she said firmly as she strolled into the room, "we need to talk."

Jaha looked up from his computer, the light from the screen reflecting off of his glasses. Slowly, his mouth parted into a small smile. Bellamy wanted to splash his face with hot coffee. "Clarke Griffin," Jaha welcomed, rising to shake her hand, "down to business as usual. It's been a long time."

Clarke shook his hand and then returned it to her side. "Yes, but not without good reason— you did get my dad fired."

"Clarke—" Jaha started.

"—but I'm not here to discuss that," Clarke cut him off coldly. Bellamy fought back a grin. Her viciousness towards the superintendent made him feel warm inside. "We're here about how you want to _sell our school in order to create a parking garage_!"

Jaha sighed, steepling his fingertips together. "Listen, Clarke, I don't want to do this any more than you do, but the fact of the matter is that I have to think about the greater good of everyone; West Arke is low on funding, and quite frankly, in better disrepair than any of the other schools in the district. The tax payers dollars allotted to education are heavily being used to try and fix that school up, but it doesn't seem to be doing much good. Just this week alone we've had two janitors quit due to not being able to handle the disrespect."

Bellamy internally groaned. For once the bastard had at least a basis of an argument. He turned to Clarke, but she only stared Jaha down with a fierce intensity. "So what you're saying is that it would be more profitable to tear down the school and over crowd the other two?" she quipped, folding her arms.

Jaha quirked a brow. "There are _three_ others in the district, Miss Griffin."

Bellamy snorted out loud, stepping forward so that he was by Clarke's side, close enough so that he could feel her muffin basket gouging into his side. "If you're as rich as this kid is, maybe," Bellamy pointed over his shoulder at Wells, "but most of the kids who go to West Arke are middle class and even if they worked every day during their life they would still never be able to pay for a full year at Mount Weather, let alone a four year tuition. You of all people should know that, Mr Superintendent."

Clarke smiled at him slightly, but Bellamy was too focused on the man sitting in front of him to think much of it. Jaha's lips curled and his eyes were calculating. "Bellamy Blake, correct?" Jaha asked. Bellamy nodded, eyes hard. "Top of your classes; that's very impressive."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Bellamy said back.

"Listen, Jaha," Clarke said, dropping her basket on his desk, "we know that we're twisting your arm with this. You obviously need the money and what you said about West Arke being a fixer upper is true too, but what Bellamy said is important. Most of us don't have the finances to go to Mount Weather and even though it's not as expensive, TriKru had a tuition too. And there's no way that the Reapers would be able to take in over twenty-five hundred kids."

"Ah," Jaha leaned back in his chair, "you've come to barter, huh? I should've known that Clarke Griffin would have an idea other than begging."

Clarke looked like she wanted to slug him for that comment, but she stayed composed despite the trembling fist at her side. "Student Council wants to make this our project for the school year; we'll clean it up, have fundraisers to pay for any repairs, we'll advocate for school wide support, and," she paused for a beat, "and we've decided to enter the Quiz Bowl tournament to win the cash prize to make up for the profit you'd make on the parking garage."

Jaha's eyes flicked from Clarke to Bellamy to Clarke and then to Wells. "What does my son have to say about this plan?" he asked, raising his voice.

Wells straightened his posture from where he was leaning against the wall. "I'm all on board for it, dad. We want to save the school."

"Why are you three so adamant? You're all seniors this year; it's not like you're going to be going to this school next year anyway."

"But Clarke's brother will be. And so will Bellamy's sister," Wells said sharply. "As will tons of other younger siblings of kids throughout the school!"

"Not to mention you'll be firing a bunch of people," Bellamy put in, narrowing his eyes. "There are a lot of good teachers at West Arke that don't deserve to lose their jobs."

Clarke watched the superintendent with a look of determined intensity that was almost mesmerizing. Neither of them blinked, as if the first one to look away would be the loser forced to do the bidding of the winner. Eventually, Jaha unclasped his hands and sat up in his chair.

"I'll make you kids a deal," he finally said. "If you can raise $150,000 dollars, I will supply the last fifty-thousand that will help save the school. You're deadline is May 26, the same day that I'm due to sign the contract for the parking garage."

Bellamy felt an enormous weight lift off of his chest, but he kept up the poker face he had mastered in his many years of poker against Miller and Murphy. He wasn't going to give Jaha any sort of satisfaction.

Clarke, however, lost her mean stare and instead had a soft look to her now, as if she hadn't just been in stick-up-the-ass lawyer mode for the last half hour. "Thank you," she said.

Jaha nodded. Without a word, he turned back towards his computer screen and the typing of keys filled the small study.

Their hearing before the superintendent was over.

…

Jasper exited the screen.

He and Clarke had been watching an old rerun of _Friends_ on Netflix, but she had left about halfway through the last episode when her dad called; that had been almost twenty minutes ago and now that the episode was over, he didn't have the heart to start the next one without her.

He supposed that he could get started on the next season of _Fullmetal Alchemist_ that he had been rewatching recently, but it was also tempting to put on the new anime that he had just started. _Inuyasha_ was sort of a guilty pleasure that he indulged in only when his sister was out.

Jasper leaned forward on the couch so that his stomach crunched in an uncomfortable way. He could still hear Clarke ranting on to Jake about her idea that will potentially save the school from destruction. Flopping down, he clicked play on the fourteenth episode of _Inuyasha._

The odds that Clarke would come back anytime soon was highly unlikely so he at least had the comfort of knowing that he could get through at least one episode before he would have to go barricade himself in his room. The episode barely made it five minutes in before Jasper's phone went off, alerting him of a text message.

Normally, a text message wouldn't attract his attention as much as it did, but the last few days had been radio silence in his social sphere; he hadn't talked to or seen Octavia since before homecoming and Monty had been steadfastly ignoring him. Clarke was in the kitchen so it couldn't have been her. Maybe it was Abby?

If it was, he wanted to make sure to put in a request for a pizza pick-up on her way home from the hospital. Pizza and soda were his default foods on days that he felt like lounging. He argued it was comfort food, but Clarke called him lazy (since he could cook a few things relatively well.)

He was surprised and overjoyed when Octavia's name popped up as the sender.

5:34pm.

 _Hey, its Octavia. Do you have a minute? I think we should talk._

Octavia.

Jasper's heart rate picked up and his hands felt sweaty. She was being uncharacteristically direct and it made him nervous. What did she want to talk about? Maybe he was over reading the tone in her message, but something told him that this wasn't going to end well...for him probably.

Should he even answer her? Maybe if he ignored her then the problem would go away. She would just forget about it and everything would be okay. No way, Jasper told himself. If Octavia cares enough to say something then she isn't going to just _forget_ about it. Unless it was trivial? God, he hoped it was trivial.

5:41pm.

 _Hey! Haven't heard from you in a while. Are you okay?_

 _What's up?_

Jasper.

He hoped his attempt at normalcy would make the conversation less heavy and a bit more pleasurable, but his heart was still pounding when her response came up:

5:42pm.

 _I'm alright—can you come outside?_

Octavia.

Jasper jumped up from the couch so fast that he saw black dots and he rammed his knee into the coffee table. "OW!" he exclaimed with a few groaned curse words.

Clarke's head shot out from the kitchen doorway, her phone pressed to her chest. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Jasper waved her off as he rubbed his knee. "Stood up too fast. Carry on."

Clarke disappeared back into the kitchen and Jasper hurried to the front door. Sure enough, when he stepped out onto the porch he saw Octavia standing at the end of the driveway with her hands in her pockets and a neutral expression on her face.

The fact that she was waiting so far away from the house and texted him to come outside was super unnerving. She had invited herself in and made herself right at home in his living room on several occasions, so why would it be any different now?

Jasper's heart dropped to his stomach as he made his way down the driveway. It was different now, he realized, because somewhere along the lines the dynamic had changed. "Hey," he said, forcing a weak smile as he stopped in front of her. His made sure to keep his hair in his face to avoid eye contact. "You could have come in you know."

Octavia shook her head sadly but firmly. "That would just add insult to injury, and I don't want to hurt you anymore than what I know I'm going to."

Jasper's eyes blinked rapidly as he looked up at her, forgetting to keep his eyes from making contact with hers. They were dark and determined. "Wha-what do you mean? Hurt me? You don't mean…"

"Listen, Jasper," she said, "you're a great person, okay? And I love playing soccer with you and hanging out with you and being your friend. But...when we started our _thing_ ," she put air quotes around it, "I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into. And even though we were never dating, I think I need to make it clear for both our sakes that I don't feel the same way about you as you do me."

Jasper felt like all of the air was being sucked from his lungs. He couldn't see straight. Sure, he had been tense about the silent treatment she had been giving him, but he hadn't suspected something of this measure until the moment he started his trek down the driveway to face her head-on. Now his biggest fear was confirmed. "Y-you don't love me?"

Octavia groaned, hugging her stomach. "It's not fair to term it as such a strong thing as _love_ , Jasper. I was strongly infatuated by you, okay? And I do like you still, but I view you more as a brother."

Jasper scoffed, running his hand through his hair. "Your brother? You go from seeing me as a boyfriend to seeing me as Bellamy? How does that work?"

"We were never official," she snapped back. _That_ is what was more insult to injury than anything. "And that's why people date in the first place, isn't it? To see if you're compatible enough to start a relationship."

"And you're saying we weren't compatible?" Jasper asked harshly. His emotions were all over the place at this point. Being loud and angry were the only things stopping him from bawling right there in front of her. "You sure seemed to think we were compatible when you would kiss me!"

Octavia growled loudly, stomping her foot and putting her face defiantly in Jasper's. "We only kissed a few times! And you're right! I thought that we were compatible, but that was before—" she stopped, but Jasper had already noticed her slip up.

"Before?" he asked calmly this time, not even bothering to hide the hurt in his voice. "Before who?"

Octavia refused to look at him. "I never said it was a _who._ "

"Who?" he repeated just as calmly as before.

Octavia sighed. Jasper kept his eyes downcast at her hands; they were fidgeting. "His name's Lincoln. He helped me out of a tight spot one time and we just...connected."

"I understand."

"It's nothing against you, Jasper." She hiked a bag further up her shoulder that Jasper had not noticed previously. "But, I don't think we should hang out for a little while. Just until we both cool off."

Jasper chuckled darkly. "Don't tell me you're scared of me now."

Octavia punched him in the arm good naturedly. "No way. Take care, Jasper."

Jasper watched as she walked away from him without so much as a glance behind her. She climbed into the front seat of a small blue sports car that Jasper instantly knew was not Bellamy's. As they drove by, he caught a glimpse of a muscular African American guy in the driver's seat.

Jasper inhaled sharply as he turned on his heel and marched into the house. Clarke was on the couch with a book and the TV still projected the _Inuyasha_ episode that he had paused when he left. Clarke glanced up at him. "How's it going? You were out there a long time."

Jasper ignored his sister and charged toward the stairs hoping that his hair was blocking the few stray tears from her as he ran by. He heard Clarke's concerned shouts after him, but he didn't respond. He closed the door to his room just as she reached him.

"Jasper! What's wrong?" Clarke pounded on the door. "Open up! Let me help!"

"Go away," he screamed angrily.

Pulling back the blankets on his bed, Jasper belly flopped into the mess and allowed himself to sink into the plush of pillows and the comforter. The tears spilled over his cheeks and drenched his pillows. He really hoped his mom brought back pizza now. He was in desperate need for some comfort.

3/11/17


	19. Sex, Baby

**Chapter Nineteen: Sex, Baby.**

Octavia groaned against his mouth, grasping at his face with her hands.

He tasted like sweat and Gatorade from after their workout and his body was warm pressed up against hers. Everything about him made her heart hammer in her chest and her adrenaline levels spike. She loved the feeling of being with him whether they were holding hands or he had her pushed up against a wall with his tongue in her mouth.

She had to admit that, if given the chance, she would choose the second option every time.

"Lincoln," she gasped when his kisses trailed from her mouth down her jawline and neck. She hugged herself around his upper torso harder.

He had her pinned against his bed, the messy blankets uncomfortable against her back, but it was barely an issue as he caressed her sides tenderly but desperately. "How are you so beautiful?" he murmured before hungrily kissing her again.

Octavia wrapped her legs around his waist, hoisting herself up off the mattress. Lincoln responded by supporting her around the lower back and flopping to the bed on his back in order to give her a turn on top. Octavia instantly attacked his mouth with hers, their tongues fighting each other for dominance.

That was one of the other things that she liked about Lincoln; he never just _gave_ her the things she wanted.

Whether it was a match in their martial arts practices, the last cookie in the container, or who was going to be on top, he always made it a challenge. He saw her as an equal, as someone who was on his level who wasn't in need of a handicap. It was refreshing for her, especially since she came from a life highly sheltered by her brother.

Leaning back slightly, Octavia grabbed the hem of her tank-top and pulled it over her head and tossed it onto the floor in a heap. She had figured that seeing her in her lacy bra would have aroused Lincoln even more, hopefully into even taking it off himself, but instead he blinked up at her rapidly and lost his drive from a minute earlier.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, lowering her now mostly-naked self onto his bare chest. She kissed his neck, sucking the flesh roughly but he grunted like he was displeased. "C'mon, Lincoln, help me out of this thing. Unless," she sat up so that she was straddling his waist, her fingers fumbling with the latch on the back, "you want me to do it myself."

Lincoln grabbed her arms, pinning them to her sides gently. "Octavia, I don't think we should go that far."

Octavia's chest deflated. "W-what are you talking about? I thought that you—"

"—I do love you," he interrupted her. She slid off of his stomach and Lincoln sat up so that they were facing each other. "But you're also still seventeen and I don't want to take away something as precious as—"

"—I don't believe in waiting until marriage," Octavia interjected this time. "I don't care about what anybody thinks as long as I can have you."

Lincoln shook his head slightly, almost as if he was trying to explain a complex subject to a child. Reaching down, he picked up Octavia's crumpled tank-top and handed it back to her. "Listen, Octavia, you're perfectly in your right to believe what you do but I am entitled to what I believe as well. Don't get me wrong; I fully intend to have you in every way one day, but not while you're still at such a vulnerable stage in your life."

Octavia growled, shooting him daggers as she pulled her tank-top over her head. "I can't believe you. You sure as hell never seem to mind all of the touching."

Lincoln shrugged. Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, he simultaneously caressed her cheek with his thumb. "What can I say? I'm not a complete stand up guy."

Octavia tried not to let her chuckle out, but a smile still managed to make it's way onto her face. "There's that smile," he said, tracing her lips with his thumb before he kissed her again.

"You're such a tease." Octavia looped her arms around his neck and he pulled her into his lap. "Also, you're really sticky and gross. You should take a shower."

Lincoln fell backwards, towing her along with him as he crashed against the bed with Octavia tucked up into his side. "Let's just...lay here for a bit."

Octavia inhaled deeply, getting another sharp intake of his musky sweat smell as well as the faded scent of AXE spray that he had put on before they had left the gym. "But we were having so much fun before."

"And you're not having fun now?"

Octavia rolled her eyes. Yeah, he definitely kept her on her toes, that's for sure. But she did have to concede that he was right.

Keeping up with him _was_ fun.

…

"How's Jasper handling it?"

Clarke clucked her tongue loudly. "Not very well."

Finn nodded slowly as he set two 24 can soda packs into their cart. "Poor kid. And she just did it out of nowhere? I thought they were getting along," he struggled for the correct word, "swimmingly."

"I guess there were red flags," she admitted. She scrutinized her list for a second before deciding that toilet paper was the next thing on the agenda since the aisle was closest. "She didn't even show up to homecoming."

Finn's eyebrows shot up. "Really? I could've sworn I saw her in a dress standing outside their apartment building on my way to pick up—" He stopped short as he realized what name was about to tumble out of his mouth. After a brief awkward hesitation, he said, "But yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Octavia I saw standing on the curb. Looked like she was waiting for someone so I figured she was waiting for Jasper."

Clarke pretended to inspect the different toilet paper brands to avoid eye contact. "Guess she changed her mind at the last second then."

Finn was quiet, but she could feel his breath on her neck as he stared at the list over her shoulder. Clarke tried to focus on her mother's scribbled writing, but it kind of blurred together the longer she stared at it. Clarke thought she had come to terms with her feelings toward Finn, but the more she was around him the more she felt confused.

She had strictly told herself that her feelings were irrelevant given the fact that he had a girlfriend, and even then she was still hurting from the fact that he had lied to her about it. But now that Finn was officially back on the market, Clarke had been having some issues. She still really liked him and hanging out with him regularly seemed to increase those feelings, but at the same time she didn't feel like she could trust him.

And to Clarke, trust was an important factor. Ultimately, lack of trust (on top of bitterness and anger) is what led to her falling out with Wells, which was only recently starting to be patched up.

And then there was also Raven who factored into everything now. Clarke didn't care for her very much at the beginning, but in the last few weeks she had started to have a change in heart. Raven was a smart individual who proved to be a reliable asset to their team. It made Clarke wish that things could have worked out differently.

"I hope they work everything out." Finn's voice drew her out of her thoughts. It was then that she realized he had already set a case of Charmin Ultra into her cart.

Clarke shrugged, maneuvering the cart around him and back towards the dairy aisles. "I'm not so sure. Jasper has been really depressed the last few days so whatever she said to him couldn't have been good."

"You mean he hasn't told you?"

"He hasn't taken a shower in days and he only leaves his room to get ice cream." Clarke held up two half gallons of Rocky Road for emphasis before setting them in the basket as well. "Even though they weren't official," she tagged alongside Finn as he took a turn pushing the cart, "Octavia was Jasper's first girlfriend. Not to mention he had a crush on her for a long time. So for all of that to come crashing down is really taking a toll."

Finn pulled up to a checkout line. Together he and Clarke began setting items up on the conveyer belt while the other person in line finished up their purchase. "Yeah, I feel so bad for him. I guess you're kind of okay with the situation though, right?"

Clarke scrunched her eyebrows as she handed him a gallon of milk to put on the checkout table. "Why would I be okay with the situation?"

This time Finn looked confused. "Because Octavia is Bellamy's sister and you hate Bellamy? It's totally a bummer for Jasper, but you even said it yourself that you didn't want him and Octavia to be a thing."

Clarke nodded slowly, but when she didn't agree with him right away, Finn scoffed slightly with disbelief. "Don't tell me that you've changed your mind about him."

Clarke narrowed her eyes at him dangerously as she put the final item from her shopping basket onto the conveyer belt. "I trust him a lot, actually. He may come off as a douche bag at first, but once you get to know him he isn't...as repulsive as you'd originally think."

Finn combed his finger through his hair incredulously. "You can't be serious right now."

"When am I ever not serious, Finn?" She shoved past him and paid for her groceries. Between both of his arms, Finn managed to carry most of her bags which left only two for Clarke to grab. She was even a little surprised that he was helping her still since he wasn't even trying to hide his mild irritation.

"Are you going to Murphy's Halloween party next weekend?" Finn asked once the groceries were in the back and the pair of them were nestled in the two front seats. Clarke noted that his crabbiness had significantly diminished if it was even there at all still.

"Not sure," she said as he pulled out of the lot, "I usually don't associate with that crowd, but I know Harper and Fox are going since soccer season is over." She sighed, leaning her head against the window. "I don't really have time for it anyway; I have to start scheduling Quiz Bowl practices on top of regular Stu-Co meetings. And we should really set up some fundraisers too in case we tank the Quiz Bowl."

"You sound like you could use a break and have a little _fun_."

Clarke glanced at him, trying to deduce if he was implying they should have sex, but he wasn't even looking at her. Instead he scrambled around looking for something while they were at a red light, then popped in a CD just as the light turned green. Immediately old punk rock music that Clarke listened to when she was younger blared from the speakers. "WHat are you doing?" she yelled over Blink-182.

Finn bobbed his head back and forth, his long hair getting tangles throughout it. "You just need to loosen up."

Clarke groaned slightly as she leaned back in her seat, but she did mouth the words to most of the songs that came on throughout their drive back to her place. She couldn't remember the last time she actually listened to music in a car. She usually just listened to Game of Thrones on audio books when she drove, and that was regarding the fact that her car was still in the shop from when Jasper smashed up the windshield a few weeks back.

The CD ended just as they turned into Clarke's driveway. Both her mom and Kane's car were parked in the garage. "Thanks again for taking me out," she said, unclipping her belt.

Finn nodded. "No problem. Hey, I was wondering…" Clarke stopped fidgeting in her seat. "So if we're in agreement to _not_ go to Murphy's party, then why don't we do something ourselves for Halloween? We could grab a pizza and watch old scary movies?"

Clarke gave him a level stare. "I don't know. This is sounding suspiciously like a date, which I want no part of."

Finn cracked a small grin. "It's not a date, Clarke. Consider it our alternate version of the traditional Halloween party."

Clarke pursed her lips, trying to find a flaw in his idea but coming up empty. As long as everything stayed platonic, she had no problem with hanging out with him. At this point, even if she wanted to date him it was just better to stay out of such a messy situation. "Fine. But only if they're classic scary movies. Actually, scratch that. Let's just binge The Munsters and Addams Family. I have them both on Blu-ray."

"Done." Finn smiled. Clarke imagined herself punching him in order to keep her emotions in check.

"Cool. So are you going to help me with these groceries or what?"

...

Raven hadn't intended to catch them out on a date.

She had actually finished up a work-out and was just going to pick up a quick bite to eat on her way home from the gym when she accidently stumbled across the two. Clarke and Finn were waiting patiently in line at a Subway. Needless to say, her night was ruined.

Raven didn't make it a habit to spy on people, but Finn had been her best friend and long time boyfriend of several years, so losing him to some blonde he met at the beginning of the school year was still enough to make her bitter about it. She vaguely remembered there talk about John Murphy having a party that night, but neither of them looked like they were dressed to go out; Clarke had on pajama pants, a sweater, and her hair was in a knot on the top of her head while Finn had on sweatpants, a hoodie, and a beanie.

The only logical explanation was a movie date.

Raven scolded herself as she stared at them from the farthest corner table in the restaurant. She probably looked like some creepy stalker! Not only that, but she shouldn't even be concerning herself with Finn anymore. After all, she was the one who called things off with him in the first place.

But yet, she couldn't take her eyes off of them. They never touched each other; never held hands, she never rested her head on his shoulder, he never pulled her into a hug. He didn't even brush their shoulders.

It was the looks that they were giving each other, however, that made Raven's heart clench. Clarke was a bit more subtle about the half glances she directed at him, but even then they were still hollow. It was like the she was looking at someone she cared about who she could never bring herself to love the same way again. In way, Raven was relieved.

Finn's looks were what really hurt though. He didn't even try to hide the longing adoration his his hazel eyes when he looked at Clarke. Whenever she spoke, she had his undivided attention until the moment she was done. Even when she wasn't talking, his eyes were always on her. It was like he couldn't get enough of her—if he looked away for even a second, there was a chance that she'd vanish into thin air.

He had never looked at Raven like that, even before Clarke came into the picture.

Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes, but it took her second to realize that they weren't tears of sadness, but tears of anger. Anger towards Clarke for being better than her. Anger towards Finn for choosing someone else over her.

Raven stormed out of the restaurant, ignoring the looks she may have gotten or the fact that Finn and Clarke may have just seen her fit. In fact, let them see for all she cared. She wasn't the cheater, the one to be blamed, in this scenario. If Finn was going to screw the princess, then Raven was going to take her knight and see how Clarke liked it.

It wasn't hard to find John Murphy's house. There were cars lined on either side of the street for a few blocks, and the house itself was practically glowing. Distasteful Halloween decorations made the front yard a bit spooky, but lights and music poured out from almost all of the windows.

Raven parked her car on an angle in the driveway, blocking off several vehicles from being able to back out. Common courtesy was a thing of the past as far as she was concerned.

Adrenaline fueled by anger was still pumping through her veins when she stepped inside the house. Everything smelled of alcohol and smoke. Some of the people she recognized from her classes, but no one that she really associated with.

"Sup, girl?" Some guy with a leprechaun hat handed her drink, then lumbered off.

Raven took a sip, tasted the liquor on her lips, then downed the whole cup before dropping it on the floor. "Out of my way," she snapped as she pushed through the crowd.

She found Murphy making out with his girlfriend Emori on the couch in the living room so intensely that it was basically sex with their clothes on. Raven grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. "Hey!" he screamed at her in a slur.

"Where's Bellamy?" she demanded, ignoring his drunken complaints.

Murphy shrugged, his eyes bloodshot and barely focused. "I don't know? Probably the kitchen with Miller."

Raven dropped him back on top of his girlfriend and the two proceeded to tear at each other's clothes. Raven stormed toward the kitchen where she found Bellamy, Miller, and Monroe playing darts with grapes and the microwave. Two thirds of them were wasted.

"Ohhh my God," Miller laughed, hiccuping slightly, "It's that Raven?"

Raven crossed her arms, hoping that her annoyance was showing through just enough for them to know she meant business. Unfortunately, they were too drunk to even notice. "OMG," Monroe giggled, "Raaaaaaaaaven, YOU should have seen it." She hiccuped. "Harper showed up, but LEFT because she couldn't handle it."

Miller giggled along with her, resting his forehead against Monroe's shoulder. "She couldn't handle a Murphy party. Isn't that just the GREATEST?"

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "And why aren't you drunk off your ass?" Raven asked him accusingly.

"Because I'm the designated driver." Bellamy regarded her with a questioning look. "Why? What's wrong? You look upset."

Raven internalized a snort. "Yeah, I need your help with something really important. Can I talk to you somewhere where it's less loud?"

Bellamy turned to his two friends. "Are you two idiots going to be okay?"

Miller waved him off as he dropped a grape into Monroe's mouth. "We'll be fiiiiiiiiiiiine, DAD."

"Don't eat any more of those until I come back," Bellamy warned them, ignoring the dad comment. "I don't want to be responsible if one of you choke to death."

Bellamy led Raven to a hallway upstairs where there were less people. If this was going to work, she needed him in a _bedroom_. "So what's up?" Bellamy leaned against the railing.

Raven threw up her hands in a fluster. "I'm sorry, but I still can't hear myself think. Why the fuck are there so many people here?"

"Because it's a John Murphy party." He said it like it were obvious. "Come on."

This time he slowly eased a door open on the furthest end of the hallway. It opened up to a decent sized spare room with yellow walls, closed curtains, and dim lamp light. Perfect.

"His house is so big."

"His parents make a lot of money." Bellamy eased himself onto the bed and fixated a curious look at her. "So are you finally going to tell me what your deal is or are we going to continue this twenty questions thing?"

Raven responded by stripping down to her sports bra and underwear in one fluid motion. She ripped out her ponytail, allowing her hair to tumble in waves around her shoulders. "Is that sufficient for ya?"

Bellamy didn't react at all, which was somewhat of a disappointment. "Raven," he said warily, "what the hell are you doing?"

"Moving on." She strode up to him slowly so that his face was about the same level as her breasts were, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I've never been with anyone other than Finn before." Her anger towards him blossomed in her chest once again as she said, "Take off your clothes."

Bellamy stared at her without saying anything for a minute. "Fine," Raven reached for the hem of her bra, "I'll do—"

"Stop."

Raven dropped the edge of her bra, leaving her fully covered as well as surprised. This wasn't quite the reaction she was expecting. "What?"

Bellamy looked away from her. "I'm not really the type of guy to be _comforting_ people when they're not in the right mind, but this is the stupidest decision you could possibly make."

Raven snarled at him violently. "And how would you know! It's my decision on what I want to do with my body!"

And she wanted to bring Clarke down to her knees while she was at it.

Bellamy walked past her to the door. "Do it out of spite if you want, but you're not doing it with me."

And that was how he left her in the room: cold, tired, naked, and full of shame.

...

4/14/17


	20. Dark Days

**Chapter Twenty: Dark Days**

Bellamy twirled the pen in his fingers two rotations before he lost his grip and it fell to the floor.

Only Miller and Wells had noticed, the previous even chuckling slightly, but the others present were focused on Clarke as she spoke. Bellamy considered picking it up, but that would attract more attention and it wasn't like he _needed_ his pen.

Instead, he rested his head on top of the podium. "Do you have the location picked out?" Clarke's voice asked beside him.

Bellamy wasn't sure who the question was addressed to but Monroe's voice answered, "Yeah. The Thai place said that they'd donate twenty-percent of the bill of people who say they're representing West Arke. It'll be on November nineteenth."

Clarke jotted something down in her yellow notepad. "Good job. Today's the fifth so that gives us two weeks to get the word out about it."

"I was thinking," Sterling sat up straighter in his desk, "What if we had one of those lock-in things?"

"To raise money?" Miller shook his head. "Why would someone pay money to stay in the school longer?"

"Shh shh." Finn held his arm out to shush Miller, then nodded for Sterling to continue. "Elaborate."

"What if we had a movie showing and some games?" Sterling's voice got smaller as he continued his sentence.

"It's an idea," Clarke said with a tight smile. Bellamy grinned to himself, knowing fully well that that smile and subtle head nod was her way of saying _afraid not._

Bellamy picked his head up off of the podium and glanced around the room. Wells was fighting to keep his eyes open, Sterling was twiddling his thumbs in embarrassment, and Miller was playing on his phone while Monroe leaned over his shoulder to watch. Finn looked to Clarke, waiting for her to say something.

Bellamy specifically noted that Raven had failed to show up to the impromptu meeting. In the time since the previous weekend at Murphy's house party where Raven had made a move on him, he hadn't seen her more than once. She had become elusive, but it made him wonder if she was avoiding him out of shame or embarrassment.

"I think we'll just wrap this up." Clarke closed her notepad. "We've got a fundraiser going and two Quiz Bowl practices scheduled over the next month so I feel like today's been productive enough."

"Finally." Miller slid off of the desk he had been perched on and scuttled out the door.

"Hey, wait for me!" Monroe shuffled out after him.

Bellamy wanted to leave as soon as possible; in the past, he had tended to skip stu-co meetings that had been scheduled on Fridays, let alone impromptu meetings, but Clarke had twisted his arm when she said that he had to take responsibility as president.

She had also reminded him that she didn't get her car back for another three days and that he was her and Jasper's only way home. Bellamy wasn't sure at what time along the road he had become responsible for Clarke getting home every day but for some reason it didn't bother him the same way it would have at the beginning of the year. In the end, he decided to stick around for the grueling two hour meeting that consisted of a couple dozen phone calls to ask about fundraising.

It was almost becoming alarming as to how much Bellamy was willing to sacrifice for her.

Bellamy crouched down to pick up his pen, but as he fumbled around on the floor he heard Finn's voice from on the other side of the podium. "Did you need a ride home, Clarke?" Finn asked.

Bellamy's nose reflexively scrunched up at the thought of Clarke going home with Finn; then he realized how ridiculous he was being. He justified the reaction by the fact that she had already asked him to take her home today and it would have been a waste of his time if she left with Finn...yeah that had to be it.

Bellamy stood up, slipping the pen behind his ear which tickled his hairline slightly. Clarke hugged her elbows, but her eyes held that no-nonsense look. "No thanks," she said, "my brother and I are going home with Bellamy."

Finn's eyes shifted from Clarke's eye to over her shoulders at Bellamy. Bellamy smirked and stuck the tip of his tongue out knowing perfectly well how juvenile he was being. Finn's focus instantly snapped back to Clarke, only making Bellamy feel more smug. "Are you sure?" Finn asked, his voice in more of a hush this time. "'Cause I have enough room in my car for Jasper to fit too."

Bellamy almost scoffed. He wasn't sure who Finn thought he was fooling, but he was doing a pretty unconvincing job.

Clarke pulled the strap of her messenger bag further up her shoulder. "Yes, I'm sure. I'll you later sometime."

Finn shuffled in a way that made it obvious that he wanted a hug, but Clarke whirled around on her heel and stepped towards Bellamy without so much as a second glance at him. Bellamy pushed himself up from his leaning position against the podium. "I almost thought you were going to pass me up for Spacewalker over there," he commented.

Clarke's cheeks tinted slightly, but she held her composure. "It would never work," she muttered, ushering him to walk with her. "Besides, I'm over him anyway."

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "Are you sure about that, Princess?"

Clarke groaned loudly, catching him off guard. "Are we really back to that pet name?"

Bellamy smirked good naturedly. She punched him in the arm hard enough that it would probably bruise. "Ow! Okay, I'm sorry, Clarke."

Clarke turned her face away from him, but Bellamy saw the smile she was trying to hid from him. He didn't say anything about it though. He liked it when they were civil with each other and he was afraid if he hassled her, then she'd get cross and wouldn't talk to him. His phone vibrating in his pocket brought his attention away from the blonde beside him.

"Jasper is in the gym," Clarke said as they rounded a corner that would take them straight out to the senior parking lot. "We should probably go get him real quick since he hasn't answered any of my texts."

"We may have a problem." Bellamy held up his phone for Clarke to see the text message he had just received.

"Octavia?" The queasiness was written all over her face.

"She missed her bus and her friend is in traffic and can't pick her up." Bellamy shoved his phone into his back pocket, almost wishing that Clarke and Jasper had gone with Finn after all. "This is going to be one fucking awkward car ride."

…

"Where's Bellamy?"

The question rolled off of Jasper's tongue the moment he realized Bellamy wasn't with his sister when she entered the gym. He wasn't sure why he was so curious; in fact, he really wasn't that interested, but the words had still formed on his tongue. Maybe it should be a relief that he had take some subconscious interest since nothing seemed to catch his attention these days.

Clarke must of caught it too, because her eyes lit up a bit. She must think that something was wrong with him. "He's um, out by the car, Jasper."

Something about the way she said his name at the end made him uncomfortable. Obviously she was keeping something from him, but Jasper couldn't even bring himself to care at this point. The world was just a brewing cesspool of disappointment and it was easier to wallow in it than climb out of the pit only to be pulled back down. Each time he fell back into the pool, the harder he hit the ground and the more bones he broke.

Clarke picked up his discarded sweatshirt that was resting by the door from where he tossed it there earlier. "You wanna put that basketball away while I grab your bag? I don't want to keep Bellamy waiting."

"Whatever."

Jasper dribbled the ball half-heartedly on the way to the utility closet and then chucked the ball into the room for it to land randomly wherever it wishes. Putting it away was too much of a hassle and pointless since someone was just going to come by and pick it up again to use anyway.

Clarke was by the door, looking very weighed down by both her bag and his, but Jasper walked right past her and out of the door towards the parking lot. Clarke grunted behind him, but said nothing. A tiny voice in the back of his head wondered how much longer she'd let him get away with treating her like this, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

Considering it was the only car in the lot, Jasper spotted Bellamy's car pretty quickly but he would have recognized it even if the lot was full. He stepped off the curb and sped up his pace. He wanted to get out of the open as soon as possible and just shove himself into the backspace of Bellamy's car where no—

Octavia was sitting on the hood of the car. She glanced up from her phone, but the moment they made eye contact she hurriedly glued her face to the screen again and created a wall with her hair that shielded her face from him.

Jasper started to turn around but ran head-on into Bellamy. "I'm going to make this as painless as I can, Jasper," he whispered.

Jasper swallowed, not quite believing him. Clarke, finally having caught up, dumped their crap onto the floor in the backseat. "Jasper, you're up front with Bellamy. Octavia, you're in the back with me."

Octavia looked up from her phone again, this time looking like she had gotten punched in the stomach. "But _I_ always sit in the front!"

Bellamy gave her a strict look. "Get in the back, O. It's not open for discussion."

Jasper climbed into the passenger's side while intense glares between the other three took place. Honestly he wanted nothing to do with it, _her_ especially. It was one thing to dump him; it was another to completely cut him out of her life as if he was never her friend in the first place.

There were a few hushed whispers, and then Octavia climbed into the back with a defiant slam of her door. Clarke and Bellamy both slid into their respective spots with perfect synchronization. It was kind of funny how the days where those two hated each other were almost a blur now, since neither one of them was often found without the other these days.

Bellamy didn't allow the car to fall into tan awkward silence because the moment he started the engine, he turned the volume on the radio to full blast making Jasper's teeth clatter around in his head. There were drowned out voices from the back, so he could only assume that Clarke and Octavia were talking, but he didn't catch any words.

Bellamy tried talking to him a few times, but Jasper kept his head against the window the whole time and pretended that he didn't hear him, which wasn't hard considering that Clarke's dad could probably hear the radio all the way in California.

The relief that flooded his body when they pulled into their driveway was so immense that he barely waited for the car to stop before jumping out and bolting for the door. He slammed the door to his room, grateful that his parents were in the backyard and hadn't witnessed his outbreak.

He could see Bellamy helping Clarke cart their stuff from his backseat up the walkway to the house. Octavia climbed over the automan in the car to get from the back seat to the front. Jasper let the curtain fall back into place.

Later that night, after he had skipped dinner and passed on a snack, Jasper sat with his back to his bedroom door. It wasn't their fault that they didn't know he could hear them whispering about him—after all, he had faked being asleep when they came in to check on him.

"He's not getting any better," Abby murmured. She was probably standing outside the room she shared with his dad.

"So he just stormed off?" His dad, Kane's voice.

A pause in the voices for what was probably a nod. "I'm really worried about him," Clarke inserted. "He isn't acting himself at all. At first it was somewhat normal, but this is carrying over far longer and becoming far more serious."

That's when Jasper tuned out, instead curling up in his comforter on the floor in front of the door. He was almost tempted to open the door, but once again he was hit with this wave of utter hopelessness.

Like nothing was going to get better from here.

...

sorry this is filler, but kind of necessary for Jasper's development. more bellarke fluff and plot next time!

5/15/17


	21. The Choices We Make

**Chapter Twenty-One: The Choices We Make**

The movie, in Bellamy's opinion, was terrible.

When he heard that he would be watching a movie in his AP Bio class, he had been pretty excited since it meant a break from the grueling notes that had been crippling his hand all week. He didn't even have any qualms with the movie being centered around DNA and RNA (which happened to be the unit they were studying) because Bellamy found the topic relatively interesting.

The only problem was the movie itself; the characters were drab, the color scheme dull, and the overall plot was just discomforting to Bellamy. He never understood why people made it their life long goal to make it into outer space. Space was an unpredictable void of cold and unforgiving variables. From a lack of oxygen to system failure, anything was a liability.

Bellamy shuddered at the thought and turned his attention from the movie to his phone setting on his desk, positioned in such a way so that the kid in front of him was blocking it from the teacher's view. He didn't have any intentions to text anyone, but when he saw he had a message from Clarke he didn't even hesitate before reading it.

10:23am

 _Did I leave my my history notebook in your car yesterday?_

Clarke.

10:26am

 _Nevermind, I found it._

Clarke.

Bellamy snorted, a small grin taking form. He glanced back at the clock in the room before remembering that he could've just checked his phone for the time. It had already been two hours since she had texted him and she had found what she was looking for so there really wasn't a reason for him to text her back…

12:43pm

 _Is that an excuse to talk to me, princess?_

Bellamy.

Bellamy hesitated for a minute before sending the message, but ended up sending it anyway. Hopefully she wouldn't chew him out too badly.

12:45

 _Is what an excuse?_

Clarke.

12.47

 _We both know that you don't just lose things._

Bellamy.

12:49pm

 _You're right. I just misplace things. Big difference and I understand your_

 _confusion between the two._

Clarke.

12:51pm

 _Damn._

Bellamy.

12:52pm

 _Haha. so why aren't you paying attention in class?_

 _Aren't you in biology right now?_

Clarke.

12:53pm

 _Watching a terrible movie. Was gonna take a nap_

 _But texting you seemed like the less boring of the options._

Bellamy.

12:55 pm

 _I'm flattered. So hey I was thinking we have_

 _a Quiz Bowl practice this weekend. Does that work for you?_

Clarke.

12:55 pm

 _Wouldn't miss it princess._

Bellamy.

"Mr Blake!"

Bellamy's head shot up from the sound of his name being called. His teacher was glaring at him from behind her desk at the front of the room. He also noticed that the kid sitting in front of him had shifted his position at some point and had left Bellamy completely exposed with his phone in hand. Damn it.

"If you don't just pay attention and enjoy the movie, I'll have you take notes." She narrowed her beady eyes at him.

Bellamy made a show of holding up his phone and then dramatically putting it away. No one said anything or giggled at him for being caught. The teacher rolled her eyes and pressed play on the movie again.

Bellamy groaned, setting his head in his folded arms. Maybe he would take that nap after all.

…

Jasper hesitated briefly before walking straight past his fourth hour classroom, ignoring the looks that his classmates gave him as he breezed by.

It was two days after his break-up with Octavia that Jasper skipped class for the first time. It was his fourth period when he asked to use the bathroom in the middle of class, and on his way back to the room he decided that he didn't feel like it.

Jasper remembered how intensely his heart pounded when he snuck away to the auditorium to relax for the last half of class since he knew no one would question him down there. But despite how guilty he felt that first day, he did it again the following day. And the next.

Eventually he stopped going to his fourth hour altogether, and even missed the first half of his fifth. The guilt melted away and instead was an instilled numbness, like he couldn't care less if what he was doing was wrong or a possible disappointment to his family. Alongside Clarke and Monty, he already was a disappointment!

Hell, he couldn't even win over the girl of his dreams after years of pursuing her!

A girl whom Jasper recognized from his class jumped out of his way as he stormed by, catching a glimpse of her intimidated expression. He knew what she was thinking about him; bad news.

Most of his soccer team had caught wind of his drastic behaviour changes and started making any and every excuse to not talk to him whenever he approached them. He supposed he couldn't blame them since it was his own fault for getting labeled as the newest druggy in the school.

It almost made him laugh since most people had him pegged as a drug addict when he hadn't had any intent on trying any kind of drug up until today.

The hallways cleared the closer it came to class starting until finally the bell rang and he was left walking the hallways alone. When he reached the far east staircase, Jasper had to force himself to keep moving. He could see the big, beefed up guys and fish-net stocking girls who frequented this side of the school and suddenly he started to get cold feet.

He was considering to screw it when he recognized Murphy with a joint dangling from the corner of his mouth, eyes bloodshot with an arm wrapped around Emori. The door to the parking lot was propped open with a pair of bookbags, probably to keep the smell of smoke from wafting down the hallways.

Murphy's eyes widened when he noticed Jasper lingering off to the side. Jasper locked his arms behind his back, feeling small for the first time in a while. His hands felt sweaty.

"Just a second guys." Murphy flicked the blunt to one of his buddies, then sauntered over to Jasper. Emori put a hand to her mouth in surprise as she followed behind him. "What are you doing here?" he demanded in a hushed tone, slinging an arm over Jasper's shoulders and spinning him so that his back was to the staircase.

Jasper swallowed cautiously, then hardened his voice. "I'm here because I want some weed."

"Jasper…" Emori's voice was soft. Jasper tried to think of how she knew his name or why she cared for his well-being in the first place.

Murphy chuckled through his teeth. "No you don't," he said, giving Jasper a rough shove towards the hallway.

Jasper fumbled over his ankles. "How would you know?" He whipped around, eyes smoldering. "Besides, it isn't like you to turn down a customer."

Murphy rubbed at the edge of his nose with his thumb, the same dirty smile on his lips. Jasper resisted to growl. "Listen kid," Murphy said, "normally I don't have a conscious when it comes to these types of things, but you also happen to be the brother of Clarke Griffin and I could get into a lot of trouble if she found out about me giving it to you."

Jasper felt like slamming his forehead into the wall. It was just like Clarke to be meddling in his life, even if it was indirectly. "I won't let her find out."

Murphy chuckled again, making Jasper blush. It had sounded stupid even to him, so he could only imagine how stupid it sounded to a guy like Murphy. "Clarke Griffin has methods that not even I don't understand, and I've avoided prison at least six times. I don't need her poking her nose into things that she's kept a blind eye at for so long. Not to mention my buddy Bellamy seems to be aiming for her right now, and it would make me a shitty wingman if I sold any illegal substance to you." Murphy shrugged, then nodded towards the hallway. "If you leave now, I won't tell her you stopped by."

Jasper scrunched up his nose in anger, taking his time to flip off Murphy with both hands before hurrying away from the staircase. A few hoots and hollers from behind him urged him to increase his pace, mostly because he felt embarrassed.

That wasn't how he expected it to go down at all.

Murphy had always been such a mind-his-own-business kind of guy that Jasper hadn't even considered him being a blockade. His biggest concern was being overcharged for his marijuana since he was new to it all, but he had come prepared after snagging two hundred dollar bills from his mom's purse the night before.

How was he going to get a fix now?

"Hey."

Jasper paused midstep. A girl with tangled hair and heavy eye make-up had her back pressed up against a vending machine. He must have missed her during his rage-walking. "What the hell do you want?"

The girl popped a Dum-Dum sucker from one cheek to the other. "Don't get all sassy with me," she replied hotly. It sounded like she had an accent, but he wasn't sure what. "I happened to overhear your conversation and I think I'll be able to help you out."

Jasper's eye twitched, suddenly not so sure about this. On one hand, he was itching to get high to see how it felt, but on the other hand he had only been open to it in the first place since he thought Murphy was going to be his hook-up. This girl didn't seem like the most reliable person out there. "What's your name?"

She smirked. "That's not really important. You have money?"

This time Jasper offered a smirk. "You don't get anything unless I get a name first."

The girl groaned, removing the sucker from her mouth to reveal an empty white stick. "People call me Echo," she said. Her accent was stronger now that there wasn't anything in her mouth but Jasper still couldn't place it. "Happy now?"

"Very." Jasper inhaled slowly as he made up his mind. "Who's your supplier?"

"A higher up over on Azgeda territory. Even I don't know his identity. But what I need to know is if you're hiring me as your hook-up or not."

Jasper stripped one of the hundred-dollar bills from his back pocket. "Is this enough for a trial run?"

Echo grinned, snatching the paper from his hand with her fake nails and ran it along her cheek. "Perfect. I'll bring you your fix after school."

Jasper nodded, barely sparing her another glance as he moved down the hallway. Just over a month ago, he was a rule-abiding honest guy who was on his way to the district soccer match, and now he was skipping class and buying drugs from skanky girls who hung around vending machines.

He kind of wondered how long it was going to last before his family found out about this; there was still time to give it up and go back to the way things used to be.

Still time…

There wasn't still time left as far as his heart was concerned. His time was coming to a close.

...

Raven considered leaving it behind considering she was already halfway through the parking lot, but the thought of someone possibly taking her wrench between now and tomorrow was enough to get her anxiety going.

Turning on her heel, Raven hurried back across the lot, never missing the opportunity to flip the bird at an asshole who honked at her. At least she didn't have to walk to the far side of the school in order to get to the welding room; she had quickly learned to park on the north side of the building for this specific reason after forgetting five tools at school in three days.

She had been doing so well about remembering to!

Raven huffed as she shoved past a few people through the door as they exited. It wasn't really her fault that she had forgotten it, though. She saw Bellamy and in her mad attempt to get out of an approaching awkward situation, Raven tossed things into her bag frantically and got out fast.

Ironically, the one thing she really needed to take home with her hadn't been a part of the frenzy of unnecessary things being randomly shoved into her bag.

The light was still on in the workshop when she reached the door, which struck her as odd. Normally Sinclair, the teacher, would have left by now and Raven had never stumbled across anyone who chose to stay after school to work in the welding room other than her.

Maybe Sinclair had some last minute tests he wanted to run on a design? Raven had been helping him develop a new kind of air purifier recently, so that must be it.

Fully convinced that Sinclair was the only possible person in the room, Raven shoved the door open roughly. "Hey, Sinclair," she said casually, shouldering her bag, "I forgot my wrench and —"

Her eyes settled in on an Asian kid who didn't look much younger than her; probably a junior if she had to guess, if not a senior like herself. Even though she was positive she had never had a conversation with this guy in her life, she somehow had the feeling that she had met him or at least might have interacted with him before. His face seemed familiar.

She was even about to be impressed by the robot-like device he was tinkering with until she noticed that he had _her_ wrench in _his_ hand. "Who are you!?"

Raven's voice came out louder and a bit more angry than she intended, but in a way it seemed fitting. The workshop was her domain where it was her against the world, and for this kid to come invading her personal space was aggravating.

The boy fixed her with an unamused stare, like he had endured enough to where Raven raising her voice just seemed silly. "Monty," he said, looking back down at his robot, "and you're Raven Reyes." Raven stared at him dumbfounded. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

Raven clenched her fist around the strap of her purse. She was already annoyed that she had to double back to the workroom only to find that her personal belonging was being used by someone else, but his attitude towards her was taking it to another level. Not to mention he knew her name while she couldn't figure out how she recognized him, which only made things worse.

Raven quirked an eyebrow, set her jaw, and dropped her bag onto the floor near her feet. "I'll leave as soon as you give me my wrench back."

Monty didn't even spare her a glance. "By all means as soon as I'm finished with it."

Raven stomped up the aisle, then slammed her palms down on the table top near his project. "It wasn't left open for a debate because it's _my_ wrench!"

Monty snorted, an incredulous smile starting to form at the corner of his mouth. "You know, you sound just like a little brat that didn't get her way." He shifted slightly, this time meeting her eyes without any hesitations. "Did you stop and think that maybe I'd be more prone to giving it back if you had calmly explained that it was yours and asked for it back nicely? Instead of barging in here and demanding why I have the same right to be in here that you do?"

Once again, Raven was at a loss for words. Even though she didn't want to admit it, this random kid did have a point. The break-up with Finn and the more recent Bellamy situation had set her on edge, and her frustrations had been manifesting in more violent ways, such as lashing out at people over trivial matters like a wrench.

"Here." Monty held the wrench out to her, his eyes daring her to take it and prove him right. When she just stared back at him silently, he shrugged to himself and carried on working. "Changed your mind then, hm?"

His tone was blatantly condescending, which irked her beyond belief, but instead of getting angry she just slid into the seat across from him to watch him work.

It was weird having another person in here with her; sure, there were other kids in the room with her during class in the daytime, but she never chose to work near them. Raven believed that speaking out loud clouded the words that the machines tried to tell her, and because of this she prefered to work away from the others.

Watching Monty was something else, especially since he was clearly an amateaur who happened to be well-informed about machines. A few times she had to stop herself from meddling, but by the fifth time she caught him making a slip up she couldn't contain her annoyance any longer.

"Give me that." Raven reached over the table for the robot and wrench, but Monty slid it out of her grasp.

"Hey," Monty, shifted it again when she made a second attempt to grab it, "what do you think you're doing?"

Raven grunted, just about ready to fling herself across the table and wrestle it from his scrawny arms. "You're stripping the bolts doing it that way! Give it here!"

Monty snorted, but relinquished the machine to Raven who settled it in front of her. "You have to do it like this, otherwise you're going to make it impossible to make any alterations later."

She readjusted the wrench around the nut, and twisted it into place. Monty watched intently, clearly interested in what she was showing him, but every time she glanced at him he would look away. When she finished, she pushed it back across the table. "Now you try."

He groaned, rolling his eyes, but picked up the wrench and mimicked her movements exactly. Raven's eyebrows scrunched together, almost in disbelief of how easily he was able to do it. Most people struggled a little bit at first. Upon further inspection, she also noted that he wasn't as scrawny as she had originally thought either.

Raven hated the silence. It was good at first, but after filling the void with the small argument, Raven felt in need of answers. Why did she feel like she knew him and how did he know her name?

"Have we met before?" She murmured, tapping her fingertips on the table in rhythmic spurts.

Like before, he didn't look up from his tinkering. "Not personally, no."

"How do you know my name, then?"

He temporarily stopped twisting the screwdriver. "First of all, it's a small school. When new kids transfer a month into the school year, news like that spreads like wildfire."

Raven nodded. "Guess that makes sense."

"That and I make it my business to protect Clarke." He returned to his tinkering.

Raven's stomach dropped and her jaw slackened. Suddenly she was ready to take her wrench back, no matter how immature it might be. "Is that how I recognize you?" she snapped. "One of Clarke's lackeys?"

Monty's shoulders stiffened slightly. "Listen, Raven. I don't think you're a bad person, but I need to warn you that Clarke is like a sister to me and I'd do just about anything to support her. At the same time, I know that this whole _Two-Timing Finn_ thing hurts you just as much but you can't keep blaming her for it since it wasn't her fault."

"Well of course you would say that if you're so close!" She fired back. A small gurgle in the back of her throat warned her that if she got too intense, she might just throw up. "She seemed pretty snuggly with him the other day when they were out on a pajama date."

"She didn't take him back. And I doubt she will." Monty traded in the screwdriver for the wrench again. "You heard the rumours about why Clarke and Wells broke up?" Raven nodded. "That was almost fourteen months ago and she's only _just_ starting to forgive him. Even if she does like Finn still, I know Clarke well enough that to be certain that she isn't going to take him back."

Despite the words of encouragement, Raven still felt a little bitter. Monty slid the wrench across the table so that it was setting in front of her.

"Thanks for the wrench."

Raven didn't say a word as he left the room, mostly because she didn't hear him leave. She stayed sitting in the quiet for a long time, wondering why it took such a random outside party to make her think about the things that she had been avoiding the last few weeks.

It was in that workroom where she admitted what she had always known from the very beginning; instead of coming to terms with Finn's betrayal, Raven warranted her anger on Clarke because it was easier to blame a stranger than the person you thought you could trust the most.

…

Clarke tried not to be disappointed by the turn out.

She had explicitly told everyone on student council that today's meeting was important, but twenty minutes had already passed the appointed rendezvous time with only three members present. Despite her efforts of trying to cage her annoyance, she was pretty sure that she wasn't doing a very good job.

"You don't look good." Raven pressed her back up against the counter.

Clarke scoffed slightly, leaning up alongside the counter next to the brunette. She couldn't even remember the last time she had held a civil conversation with her. "If we're going to have any chance to save our school, we have to win that stupid competition," she blew a piece of hair out of her face in frustration, "which we'll never be able to do if no one ever shows up for practices."

Raven pursed her lips and folded her arms. Clarke was pretty sure that that was a clear indication that the conversation was over, but Raven murmured, "You're everyone's golden girl. You'll figure it out."

Clarke shifted slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The faintest form of a smile formed on her face. "Even I know that you're the most reliable person in this entire school, and it doesn't take a genius such as myself to figure that out. I've seen you in action and I know that you can accomplish things when you put your mind to it. This won't be any different." Raven glanced at Clarke briefly, then redirected her attention to the floor.

Clarke smiled softly, then scrunched up her eyebrows in confusion. "Why are you being nice to me when you hate me so much?"

"Look, I don't hate you. Okay?" Raven refused to make eye contact. "I tried too but... it's easier to blame the person you don't know than believe that someone you care about betrayed you."

Clarke's breath hitched in her throat. The comment struck a chord with her, because it reminded her of Wells' betrayal except back then there wasn't someone else she could blame. It was just Wells' fault and it hurt her to accept it. It made her wonder if, given the opportunity, she would have blamed her dad's being fired on someone innocent over Wells to ease her pain.

She shook her head clearing the thought from her head. "I forgive you," she said, touching Raven's shoulder. "It's nice to have you back, Raven."

Raven twitched her nose, wiped a tear from her eye with the back of her hand, then stood up straight like nothing had happened. "It doesn't mean that we're friends now...all of a sudden."

"Certainly not." Clarke laughed, and Raven cracked a grin. It was apparent to Clarke that an unspoken agreement had been reached that ended their bad blood and were officially on the road to becoming friends.

They stood in comfortable silence until their orders were finished and then returned to the others at the table. Clarke slid into the seat beside Bellamy, passing him his coffee and a breakfast burrito.

"What's this?" He glanced down at burrito with his freckled nose all scrunched up in surprise.

Clarke rolled her eyes, feeling like it was obvious. "It's your breakfast. You like sausage right?"

Suddenly she became consciously aware that Finn was watching them from across the table with a raised eyebrow. Bellamy either didn't notice or didn't care because he replied, "Well, yeah, but why did you go out of your way to-"

"You like it. Good. End of story." Clarke could feel the heaviness surrounding the table, especially between Bellamy and Raven for some reason, so she switched gears quickly. "There isn't really enough of us to do an actual practice," she turned to Bellamy, "what do you suggest?"

Bellamy's eyes widened, his mouth full of food. Clarke stifled a laugh as he slapped his burrito on the table a chewed faster. Finn rolled his eyes. "Why don't we just run through some questions?" he asked hotly.

"Because it's no good if it doesn't keep all ten of us sharp." Raven gave him a pointed look like he should know this. "This is a team event and the four of us can't carry the team by ourselves."

"Exactly." Bellamy rolled his tongue over his teeth, then propped his head in his hands. "If we're going to utilize the next hour, we should make a practice schedule and send it out to the rest of the team. Clearly the impromptu practice idea didn't work out too well." He gestured at the four of them for emphasis.

Clarke nodded appreciatively. "Good idea. If we can coordinate better then—"

"Uh oh." Raven's hand shot out and grabbed Clarke's wrist like it was a life-line.

"What is it?" Bellamy started to shift in his seat so he could see what they were talking about, but Finn shook his head.

"Don't turn around," he said.

Clarke felt her heart rate increase. This was not good, and judging by the intense look she shared with Bellamy, he could feel it too. She just hoped he didn't flip a table in the process. "Who is it?"

"Reapers?" Bellamy demanded.

"Worse." Finn's eyes sizzled in anger.

Clarke felt her stomach flip. Worse than the Reapers, huh?

" _Clarke Griffin_!" A man's voice exclaimed from behind her. "How long has it been?"

Clarke closed her eyes and exhaled loudly before turning toward Cage Wallace and a pair of his dumb friends. Clarke had to give it to Finn, he was right when he said that Mountain Men were worse than Reapers but Cage Wallace was the worst of them all.

"You know this guy?" Bellamy sounded angry but his eyes looked hurt, like she had insulted him somehow.

Clarke frowned, unsure if she was more upset by Bellamy's attitude or the fact Cage Wallace had the audacity to show his face in Delinquent territory. "Unfortunately. This is Cage Wallace, son of the dean over at Mount Weather Prep."

Cage smiled, showing off his row of perfectly white teeth. Clarke hoped he would have left as soon as he saw them, but instead he pulled up a chair to their table, squeaking in between her and Bellamy. For some reason that really bothered her.

"What are you doing on this side of town?" Finn asked coldly, gripping the top rim of his coffee cup.

Cage waved his hand dismissively. "Please. It's not like we're not allowed to go outside our school zones or something."

Clarke shared a look with Raven who looked as uncomfortable as Clarke felt. She watched as Cage's eyes landed on her Quiz Bowl notebook and quickly tried to cover it up with her arm but it was too late. "Ahhh," his lips curled into an impish grin. "So the rumours _are_ true. Honestly I never thought that you would have the balls to join such an ill-equipped team like West Arke's."

It took every ounce of self-control for Clarke to keep herself from smacking him in the jaw. "It wasn't like I had a choice."

"Oh but you did."

"What are you spouting off about?" Bellamy demanded calmly but dangerously.

"Oh you didn't know?" Cage showed off his dumb smile again. "Clarke here was accepted to go to Mount Weather on a scholarship in ninth grade but she turned it down."

Clarke felt embarrassed as three pairs of eyes fell on her. None of them looked angry, which was a relief. Instead they looked...almost impressed that she turned down such a prestigious school. "I wouldn't have fit in with the stuck up pricks who go there."

Cage laughed good naturedly. "I missed that sense of humor. Ever since the whole Wells fiasco, I haven't seen much of you."

Clarke could feel her face going red. "What the hell? How did you know?"

Cage laughed again, looking very gentlemanly despite how bitter his words were. "Stuck up pricks always know the latest gossip. Your and Wells' break-up was the hot topic over at Mount Weather before it even hit the halls of West Arke."

"That's it." Bellamy shoved back his chair, pounded both of his fists on the table, and stood up. "It's time for you to leave."

Cage grinned again. "Or what? You're going to punch me?" Cage's two friends moved behind Bellamy as if to jump him from behind.

"Something like that if you don't leave now," Bellamy snapped.

"Bellamy," Finn stood up slowly, holding a peaceful hand out, "you're making a scene."

"I don't fucking care." Bellamy locked eyes with Cage. "He's mocking my school, my people, my Cla—and Clarke!"

Clarke ignored the last part, considering he probably was caught up with the anaphoras which was what constituted his error. Instead she felt relief when Cage called off his boys and chuckled, "Allons-y."

Clarke nearly sighed a relief when the brat stopped in the doorway on his way out as called out to her, "Mount Weather is going to crush you at tournaments."

Clarke blinked, annoyance and frustration clawing at her neck and shoulders. "Sorry, guys," she said, shoving her notebook and phone into the drawstring bag she had brought. "I'm gonna finish the schedule myself and then we can review it at the next student council meeting."

"Clarke? Are you alright?" Finn touched her shoulder comfortingly, but Clarke jerked away from him violently.

"I'm fine! I just have to go."

Clarke shoved her way through the front of the restaurant then started a brisk walk down the sidewalk outside. She didn't have her car; her mom dropped her off on the way to the hospital. Marcus was going to pick her up in about an hour but she didn't feel like staying in the same place Cage Wallace had been.

He was weird; he gave off a weird vibe that she didn't like and not ever her tough exterior could hide her dislike of him.

A low rumble in the distance made her pause midstep. Great. She forgot that it was going to rain. She figured she wouldn't need an umbrella because she thought that she'd just risk a brief jog to the car but now she was stuck walking.

The first few raindrops started to fall when she recognized Bellamy's beat up car pull up alongside her at the curb. He leaned over the passenger's seat and shoved the door open. "Get in," he said.

Clarke chuckled to herself as she climbed into the now familiar car. It smelled like him, she noted as she closed the door. Earthy. She liked it. "Thanks for the ride."

"Don't mention it."

Clarke smiled to herself, finally feeling relaxed in Bellamy's car as they listened to old music and the rain torpedoing into the windshield. She really should have kept her eyes closed because then she wouldn't have spotted them in the rain.

"Bellamy? You might wanna see this."

Bellamy peered out her side of the windshield. "Oh fuck no."

...

7/17/17


	22. I Don't Guava Clue

**Chapter Twenty-Two: I Don't Guava Clue**

 ****warnings for this chapter: Jasper has less than bright thoughts and there is going to be somewhat explicit scenes of self harm from here on out. Not too bad but i don't want anyone being uncomfortable so skip those parts if you must. Please don't force yourself if you know it will make you uneasy!****

Octavia shook her head to clear her thoughts.

She was _fighting_ him right now; she shouldn't be focusing on his arms! His perfectly sculpted muscle, his smooth dark skin, not to mention his chest and stomach which were flawless—no!

Octavia smacked her cheeks with the heel of her hand softly and refocused her eyes onto Lincoln's stance; he was turned so that his right side was facing her, leaving his left side exposed for the time being. After sparring with him consistently, Octavia knew that he could easily maneuver in a way that would protect himself from her barrages. She needed to use her small size to her advantage.

"You're sure taking your time today," Lincoln taunted with a teasing smile

Octavia bounced on her feet, making sure to keep up the momentum she would need in a moment. "It's better to be calculating than reckless," she responded, knowing he would recognize the words that he told her the first day of their training.

Lincoln cracked a grin. "I've noticed that you've—"

Octavia didn't give him time to finish because she used his distraction to her advantage; she ran towards him, feigning a kick to which he moved to block, but at the last second she ducked and rolled between his legs. In a fluid motion, she rolled to her feet and kicked Lincoln squarely in the back, sending him sprawling across the floor and out of the marked off area.

Octavia smirked at Lincoln's dropped jaw as he rolled over onto his back. This wasn't the first time she had won in a sparring match against him, but it was the first time she had managed to outsmart him opposed to wearing down his stamina.

"Not bad," he conceded, accepting her outstretched hand with a proud smile.

Octavia smirked at him playfully again, but inside she was elated. She would do anything and everything as long as Lincoln would always smile at her proudly. "I knew you could easily switch your defences if I rushed in too hastily," she said breathily, "so I tried using my head for once."

Lincoln laughed, then kissed her on the head. He was slimy from sweat, but Octavia was mostly indifferent to it by now. "That's my girl."

Together they easily made their way off the mat to where Gaia was waiting for them. "You two looked like you were having a good workout," she commented, setting her book aside. She reached around the bleacher step she was sitting on and pulled out two water bottles. "I think you could use these."

"Thanks." Lincoln passed Octavia one of the water bottles which she downed quickly.

Wiping her mouth, Octavia sat down on the step beside Gaia. "Why don't you ever try going out there? It's fun."

Gaia laughed scornfully. "Rolling around on top of sweaty strangers while wearing that?" She gestured to Octavia's short shorts and sports bra, both of which were damp with sweat. "No thanks. I'd much rather enjoy my book."

Octavia tossed her gloves next to her feet. "Just find someone who will consistently be your partner. Then they won't be a stranger anymore would they?"

"Ah," Gaia flipped her book open to a random page, but Octavia could tell that she wasn't actually reading, "but that would still entail meeting someone and dealing with their sweaty body touching mine. I'm way to dignified for such barbarous activities."

Lincoln huffed lowly, leaning his arm on Octavia's head good naturedly. "I wouldn't waste any time trying to convince her. Lord know how hard my aunt has been trying to get her to do it."

"Fifteen years and counting," Gaia muttered. "But speaking of my mom, I think she really likes you. Or at least, impressed."

Octavia blinked, an incredulous laugh escaping her mouth. "Me?"

Gaia rolled her eyes, snapping her book closed again. "No, the pigeon in the rafters. Of course you!"

Octavia glanced over to where Indra was instructing a trio of adult men who looked scared shitless in her presence. She wasn't gonna lie; Octavia was highly intimidated by Indra, but it wasn't because she was scared of her. It was because she had an unfathomable amount of respect for her.

"All I'm saying," Gaia continued, "is don't be surprised if she asks you to fight in the Conclave Tournament this year."

Octavia's heart just about dropped to her stomach in both shock and excitement. "If you're pulling my leg right now Gaia, I swear to —"

"—I'm not!" Gaia cracked one of her rare smiles. "I don't have a sense of humor, remember? But that's the rumor going around my apartment."

She whipped around at Lincoln who had a knowing smile on his lips. "Don't tell me you knew about this too!"

Lincoln laughed, sitting on the step beside her. "I'll admit, I may have been holding out on you."

Octavia resisted the urge to hyperventilate, because passing out over some news would be a poor impression on Indra after having received such a high compliment. Ever since Octavia had started dating Lincoln and attending the dojo, the Conclave had become her obsession.

It consisted of three rounds: Preliminary, Semi-Finals, and Finals. Only the best of the best were asked by their sensei to represent their school since only three participant were allowed on the behalf of each school. Octavia couldn't even fathom as to why _she_ would be one of Indra's top picks for such a position considering she was such a newbie.

"This has to be a joke, right? Or maybe you heard wrong?" She propped her face on her knees. "I'm just an orange belts guys. Why would she have me up there when she could have Anya who's a black belt, or better yet, Lexa who is a double black belt!"

"I see you've been informed of my current decision." Indra's voice made startled Octavia, her heartbeat quickening. Indra shot Gaia a look before turning to Octavia. Octavia made sure to put on her bravest face. "So what do you say? Will you fight for Trigeda Dojo?"

Octavia swallowed. "Are you sure you want me? I'm not trained like the others or—"

"—Do you think," Indra interjected sharply, "that I would ask if I wasn't sure about you?" Octavia shook her head mutely. "You may not be on the level as some of my other students, but you have the spirit of a fighter. One that reminds me of myself. The Conclave isn't for several more months and should you choose to accept my offer, you will be on par with Lexa by the time you will compete."

Octavia nodded slowly. "That...would be amazing, Indra."

Indra snorted, but Octavia had come to learn that it was mostly a sign of endearment. "Don't rush yourself in making the decision; I wasn't going to bring it up for another few weeks," she glared at Gaia again, but the fifteen year old was too absorbed in her book to notice, "but clearly what's done is done. I hope to have your answer soon in order to start your training early should you say yes."

Indra nodded once more at Octavia, then at Lincoln before gliding in a terrifyingly elegant way back to the three men she had been monitoring earlier. "Woah," Octavia breathed through a little smile.

"So?" Lincoln clasped her hand with his. "What do you think?"

"Obviously I'd love to," she said, "but I feel like I'm not the best choice since I'm so new. Even with crash course training with Indra probably won't be enough to get me ready to go up against some of the best fighters in our area. Not to mention my brother wonders about where I run off to enough; if I have to start making up more excuses for longer practice hours, he's gonna find me out."

"Well, that's an easy fix you idiot." Gaia smiled, lacing her fingers under her chin. The fake cheerfulness was such a foreign look on her face that Octavia thought she was looking at a demon. "Just tell Bellamy the truth."

Yep. Demon.

"Do you know how bad that would be?"

"Why?" Gaia prodded. "Is he racist?"

Octavia's grip on Lincoln's hand tightened. "No, thank God," she said. "But he is prejudiced. He thinks that TriKru Academy kids are bad news and he'd never approve of me and Lincoln."

"Would your mom care?" Gaia asked.

"No, but she's hardly around since she works so much. Bellamy is the one who is always breathing down my neck."

"You know, I've been thinking about the situation too, Octavia," Lincoln started, "and I went along with the keeping our relationship a secret thing out of respect for your wishes, but I don't want to keep it as a secret from your family anymore."

Octavia tried not to get angry, but the bubble of wrath had already started to gurgle in the pit of her stomach. "Did you not just hear a single word I said, Lincoln? He's a prejudiced bastard who wouldn't let us be together and he'd probably make me quit martial arts just to keep me away from you."

"Aren't you being a little prideful in your views of your brother?" Lincoln gave her his serious face, something that didn't come out too often. "We're all just people and if he sees that I'm not as bad as he thinks I'm supposed to be, then we'll get along just fine. Raven and Finn were originally from TriKru and from what I've seen, your brother seems to get along with them just fine so why would it be any different?"

"Raven maybe, but Finn not so much," she murmured more to herself. Lincoln gave her a quizzical head cock to the side. Octavia cleared her throat and said, "You're my boyfriend. That's why he wouldn't get along with you."

Lincoln smiled, giving her a big kiss on the cheek. "Good. Now that that's all sorted out, how about we go get some smoothies?" He stood up, holding out his hand to help her up.

Octavia was dumbfounded. "What the hell do you mean we've got this all sorted out?" She reached for his hand to pull him back down but he hoisted her up effortlessly.

"You said he wouldn't like me because I'm a Grounder and not a Delinquent. But then you said he wouldn't like me because I'm your boyfriend. There's a difference."

"What? No there's not. He's just a prick."

"If he didn't like me because I'm from TriKru, he would be prejudiced, but obviously that isn't the case because he gets along with Finn and Raven. From what I've gathered from the things you've told me about your brother, he's a people person despite the rough persona he puts up. And him not liking me because I'm your boyfriend doesn't make him a prick—it makes him an older brother."

Octavia sighed loudly in defeat. "Why are you defending him?"

Lincoln grinned. "I can see where he's coming from. Since Gaia doesn't have any brothers, you'd better believe I ain't letting anyone date her until I've given them my approval which is hard to get. Brothers are like that."

"Good thing I don't need a man in my life," Gaia huffed, "other than Jay Gatsby and Fitzwilliam Darcy of course."

Octavia frowned. "Fine. Whatever. You win. We'll tell my family...soon. Just until I can find a way to tell Bellamy about the Conclave?"

Lincoln cupped her face with both hands and kissed her on the nose. "Deal. Now can we go get some smoothies? I'm starving."

After changing out of their sportswear and ten unsuccessful minutes of trying to convince Gaia to join them on their outing, Lincoln and Octavia left the dojo. Downtown was pretty nice today; the weather was overcast so not too many people were out making a fuss like normal. She hoped the walk would be uneventful...which of course meant that it would be the exact opposite.

"What are you doing after this?" Octava asked, swinging their entwined hands back and forth.

"I don't _guava_ clue."

"Yeah, me neither. I think I might study for my—" she stopped short once the pun sank in. "Oh no, was that a pun?"

Lincoln grinned. "I had a _peeling_ you would catch on quickly."

"Why the fruit puns? Is it because we're getting smoothies? I swear, these are worse than your dad jokes."

"Woah," Lincoln feigned seriousness, "don't take me or my puns for _pomegranate_."

A few bad puns later, they were stuck in a downpour. Despite quickly diving under an overhang in front of one of the shops, they were still drenched to the bone. "Unfortunately, I don't have a pun for this," he said, wrapping his arms around Octavia's neck from behind and setting his chin on top of her head.

"Don't worry," she said, "I'm sure one will come to you."

"Octavia?" Lincoln murmured. She was pretty sure he was going to give another terrible pun, so it freaked her out when he said, "Isn't that Bellamy's car?"

Well, just her luck. It certainly was her brother's car. She had told him she was going to Fox's house! What was he doing out here on a Saturday afternoon? Wasn't he supposed to be with Clarke? Octavia tipped her face down so that it was level with the ground.

Maybe he wouldn't see them and keep on driving. It was raining pretty hard after all.

"He's pulling over," Lincoln informed her.

"What?" Octavia looked up to see Bellamy's car parked so up high on the curb that the front wheel was nearly touching the sidewalk. The window was rolled all the way down on the passenger's side. Clarke was with him.

"Octavia Marie Blake!" His voice carried and he sounded angry, not that his facial expression wouldn't have been an indicator. He looked like he could murder a person. "You'd better get in this car and explain yourself."

At that moment, Octavia realized the best decision would have been to do as he said and explain the situation just like Lincoln and Gaia had advised her to do just earlier in the day. Unfortunately, Octavia didn't feel like dealing with that at this time and did the next best thing she could think of since it was raining and Bellamy was parked illegally: she grabbed Lincoln's wrist and ran in the opposite direction.

She heard the car's horn honk and muffled cursing for a split second, but then they were too far down the street to hear anything other than the rain hitting the concrete. "We can run to the mall!" she panted, pulling his down one of the side streets. "I used to ride my bike there! It's not too far!"

"This is exactly the opposite of what I suggested today!" Lincoln groaned. "If you thought your brother was gonna hate me before, he's really gonna hate me now! And to think, we could have made things go more _smoothly_."

"Not another pun out of you mister!"

…

When Raven shuffled into the hardware shop, the guy from school the other day was the last person she expected to see. And despite the awkward note they had left off on, she somehow couldn't stop herself from approaching him.

"You're that kid from the other day." She alighted next to Monty who was sifting through a bin of screws.

He glanced up at her, his expression more friendly than it was when she first met him in the workroom at school. "And you're that girl who got huffy about the wrench."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Can we move past that?"

Monty plunged his hand back into the barrel of bolts and continued his sifting. "If you insist. I'm a little busy with a project right now though."

Raven crouched down next to the barrel. "That's...partially what I wanted to ask you about. The robot you were working on the other day is really impressive. What's it for?"

Monty pricked the tip of his finger on accident. "Ouch," he hissed, pulling his hand back for a moment. "It's for the robotics tournament that's being held. My friend entered us in it as partners but he flaked out on me. I still haven't talked to him since he blew me off the last time so I've been doing everything myself."

Raven blinked, a small smile spreading on her face. Sure it sucked that his friend bailed on him, but Raven was highly familiar with this competition; ever since seventh grade, her and her friend Wick had entered and made it to Nationals every year, even coming in first place sophomore year. She had to opt out of the competition junior year when she moved to Maine, which bummed her out, but maybe she could make it back with Monty...

A bubble of excitement burst in her stomach at the prospect of engineering another winning invention. She hadn't even realized how much she missed the thrill of competition until he had mentioned it.

"What are you smiling about?" Monty's suspicious side glance snapped Raven out of her stupor.

"Ah, sorry," she shook her head, then fixed a determined look towards Monty. "So I was thinking; you don't have a teammate, and I am highly acquainted with this competition and what the judges are looking for."

"You want to team up? Sure."

"Wait, at least hear me out first. Between you and me—what?" Raven stopped short. "You mean you're agreeing with me that easily?"

Monty chuckled darkly. "On top of Jasper basically abandoning me to do this by myself, I only happen to be average at these kinds of things but my pride keeps me from dropping out of it completely. Of course I'm going to agree to you as a partner."

"Good." Raven rocked back on her heels. She wanted to mention how she had taken him up on his advice, but how should she bring it up without it being weird?

Monty's eyes flicked to her face. "What is it?"

Raven frowned. "What's what?"

"Come on, out with it. If we're going to be partners, let's start being honest right now."

Raven made a mental note to not piss this guy off seeing how he seemed to read minds. "I just wanted to thank you for the...advice you gave me the other day regarding Clarke."

At the mention of Clarke's name, Monty instantly stopped his search through the barrel and perked up. It was like she had just revealed the cure to cancer or promised him a free meal. Did he have a crush on her or something?

"So you forgave her, huh?" he asked.

Raven was still hung up on the possibility that Monty might have a crush on Clarke. "Uh, um what?" He repeated the question. "Yes, I did, sir. And I feel alot...better."

"Good. I'm glad I got through to you." Monty nearly growled at the barrel. "If only I could get through to Jasper that easily."

Suddenly, Raven made a connection. "Is the Jasper you're talking about Clarke's brother by any chance? He has dark wavy hair and had a light blue jacket he wears a lot?"

Monty shifted, and Raven knew she had hit the nail on the head. "Why do you ask?"

Raven pursed her lips, running her hands through the barrel of bolts. "I'd break that radio silence with that friend of yours if I were you. I've seen him meet up with Echo a few times and she's notorious for bad news."

"What kind of bad news?" His voice was strained.

Raven wasn't sure how to answer that so she didn't.

…

No one was in the house except for him when Jasper locked himself in the bathroom with a steak knife.

He wasn't really sure what possessed him to try it out; he had heard from some of the other people he had started hanging out with that making the emotional pain physical helped them cope. Jasper figured that he was overflowing with compartmentalized pain so relieving it might be worth a try.

Besides, it's not like his body served much purpose to him at this point anyway. He barely slept. He had stopped eating almost all together except for when Abby or his dad were home for dinner and forced him to. The drugs he'd started using put his mind at ease but he could feel the negative effects on the rest of his body. Like he said, a few scars weren't anything at this point.

Jasper shed his sweatshirt, then rolled up his sleeves. He hadn't looked at his reflection in the mirror in a while; his eyes were sunken and his face thin. His hair was longer than he usually allowed it to be as well.

His eyes drifted from the face he loathed so much to the steak knife setting on the counter. The jagged teeth were giving him some doubts. He didn't want to ground himself like meat so much as he wanted a clean cut that was barely noticeable.

Abandoning the knife idea, he scrounged around in his side of the medicine cabinet until he found a fresh razor blade. The first one didn't hurt, but the sight of his own blood made him uneasy. He moved to the second wrist, but this one pinched, bringing tears to his eyes.

He was about to make a third mark when pounding on the door startled him so bad he dropped the blade into the toilet. Instantly his heart rate increased and panic took hold of him. He was in a locked bathroom with his own blood on the floor and counter.

"Jasper?" It was Clarke's voice. What the fuck was she doing home already?

Despite his angry inner thoughts, his voice was still shaky. "W-what do you want?"

"Monty is coming over for some video games and pizza," she shouted through the door.

Jasper hissed at the red stains on the tile. "I'm a little busy. I don't want to see him."

"Jasper, come on. We haven't had one of out nights since before homecoming. So finish up your business and then come on out."

He didn't breath until he heard Clarke's footsteps recede down the hallway. Pressing his palms against the counter, Jasper inhaled deeply before cleaning up the bathroom and wrapping his arms up in gauze bandages. Fortunately he did them far enough up his arm that his sweatshirt would cover them up.

He almost forgot about the razor in the toilet, but at the last minute he decided to flush it and hope for the best. He didn't feel like sticking his arm into the toilet, no matter how bad he felt about himself.

Monty was already in his bedroom when he finally emerged from the bedroom. It was the first Monty had been over since the Octavia incident. "Hi," Jasper greeted dully.

Monty, who had been hugging one of Jasper's pillows to his chest, turned toward him almost aggressively at the sound of his voice. "Jasper!" He jumped up and nearly sprinted to him.

Jasper stood numbly, unsure of how to respond which was probably not the best idea since Monty's already concerned expression faltered even more if that were possible. "You look," Monty struggled for the right word, probably not to offend him Jasper guessed, "tired. Have you been sleeping alright?"

Jasper shrugged. "You haven't cared for the last three weeks so what's different now?"

Monty looked ashamed. "You're right, I haven't been the most attentive lately, but I'm here now."

Jasper snorted, moving past him and crashing onto his bed. "Where's Clarke? I thought she was going to hang out with us?"

Monty sat next to him, and Jasper resisted the urge to roll over. He wondered when this anger towards his friend as well as himself started. "She'll be here shortly. She said she's gonna make some popcorn, but I think she's also waiting for a call from Bellamy," Monty said.

Jasper nodded.

Monty turned toward him. Jasper felt like he was going to melt from the inside out from how intense the stare was. "Jasper," Monty broke the silence after several minutes, "if there was something bothering you, you would tell me right?"

Jasper stiffened, but he pretended like nothing had happened. "What makes you say that?"

"Raven Reyes from the senior class—"

"—I know who she is."

Monty paused. "She said that she saw you hanging out with some girl named Echo? I guess she's bad news. She got kicked out of TriKru for doing and distributing drugs."

"Mhm," Jasper murmured in agreement. It was hard to not crack a giggle. "She does sound like bad news. Good thing I don't know who you're talking about."

Monty didn't look convinced. "Are you sure? She was pretty sure it —"

"—who're you going to believe?" Jasper snapped, sitting up quickly. Ooh, that stung his arms. "Her," he said through gritted teeth, "or me? Your best friend?"

Monty dropped the subject, still looking dejected. Jasper hoped that that was the end of the conversation, but Monty murmured, "We should go do something together one of these days."

Jasper exhaled deeply. "Yeah, fine."

…

The screaming match Bellamy had with Octavia when she finally returned home, in a way, put him at ease as crazy as that seemed.

At least if she had screamed at him and stormed to her room, it meant that she was safe in the house and not _gallivanting out there_ with only God knew who.

Everything about today just seemed terrible in Bellamy's mind when he replayed it back; first this morning where those dumb Mount Weather kids made Clarke uncomfortable, Octavia taking off, getting hit with an extra shift at his job and having to put off searching for his sister, waiting up until midnight for his sister to get home and then having a screaming match that easily woke up all of their neighbors.

All Bellamy really wanted to do at this point was go to bed, but Murphy was currently passed out in his room after staying up waiting for Octavia with him for several hours on top of searching for her. Collapsing on the couch, Bellamy felt his muscles relax until he felt like he wouldn't move again in his life.

His phone setting on the table reminded him that he promised to call Clarke when he finally found Octavia; she couldn't be awake at this time right? It was nearly two in the morning. In fact, his mom would be getting back from her shift soon.

Bellamy almost decided to save it until morning but he knew that had the situation been reversed, he would had stayed up however late it took to make sure he didn't miss the call. For some reason he had an inkling suspicion that Clarke might be the same way.

After two long minutes of internal dilemma, he finally ringed her number. If she answered, then she did. If she didn't, she didn't.

It only rang three times before her voice appeared on the other end. " _You did call."_

Bellamy could feel his cheeks heating up. Thank God she couldn't see him. The sound of relief in her voice was too much for him. "Sorry it's so late."

She yawned on the other end. " _No it's okay. I dozed for a little bit earlier, but I've been reading to keep myself up."_

"You didn't have to do that." Once again, he was relieved that she couldn't see him because his face felt like it was on fire.

" _Don't worry about it. How's Octavia?"_

He snorted. "She's fine. More rebellious than I remember, I guess. It's the first time I really noticed how heavy her makeup has become to. It's like I don't even know her anymore. It's my fault really."

She was quiet on the other end for a second before she sighed deeply. " _Unfortunately, I know what you mean. Jasper has been...different too. He spends all of his time in his room. He won't go out with his friends or go with me out to eat anymore. It's strange and it worries me."_

"It's weird to drift away from my sister," he admitted. "I've been taking care of her since forever."

" _I guess it's inevitable for them to grow up to a point where our guidance is less than wanted. As long as we're always there to offer our help...then it will have to be good enough."_

Bellamy hummed his agreement into the phone as he stretched his legs out. "What are you doing?"

Clarke hummed a small laugh. " _I'm in bed with a book. You?"_

Bellamy chuckled. "I'm on the couch. Murphy is crashed out in my room. He was helping me look for O earlier."

" _That sounds like a less than desirable situation."_

"Could be worse."

" _I suppose. Oh, I can hear the rain starting up again. It's pittering on my roof."_

"You used the word _pittering_ to describe the rain?" he laughed.

Clarke sounded mildly flustered on the other end. " _What word would you use then?"_

"Pattering. Obviously."

" _Obviously,"_ she laughed. " _Ugh, I have a headache."_

"It's not from being caught in the rain today is it?"

" _Probably not. I don't get sick that easily."_

"You were in the rain in a lightweight shirt in the middle of November."

" _I'll be fine."_

"You should still get some sleep," he murmured. "I'll talk to you in the morning. Goodnight."

" _Thank you, Bellamy. I'm glad you found Octavia."_

"Take care, Clarke."

The line went dead and Bellamy tossed his phone onto the coffee table. He figured that the warm feeling in his chest would have died away by the time he turned off all of the lights in the living room, got a blanket, and laid back down but he was wrong.

If anything, the blossom of warmth had only grown.

...

soooo...i finally got caught up in season four. i died. like what the fuck jason. why did he do what we all know he did to our fav goggle boy but i will not state explicitly because im still in denial.

this is also currently unedited. ill fix it tomorrow.

also brace yourselves for more bellarke folks. and drama. the plot of this story keeps going to new levels as more ideas pop into my head.

okay. this author's note is long enough. see you next chapter!

7/29/17


	23. When Shit Hits the Fan

**Chapter Twenty-Three: When Shit Hits The Fan**

He floated like a ghost down the hallway, mind blank and eyes barely blinking.

It was early morning, but Jasper wasn't sure what time it really was. Clarke was still asleep at her desk in her room and his parents were already out of the house for work.

His body moved for him, like something in the back of his brain was subconsciously controlling his legs. Everything felt miles away and Jasper didn't even remember opening the door to the bedroom. Instead, he drifted to his father's closet where he knew her picture was.

The box was in the same place it had been for the last four years; pushed up against the wall in the far right corner, shielded by shoe boxes and other miscellaneous junk accumulated over the years. Jasper sunk down to his knees, crawling under the clothes above him just enough so that he could slide the box out.

Without any hesitation, he gently removed the lid and set it next to him and picked up the frame that was so carefully preserved.

Jasper was almost a replica of his mother; dark wavy hair, high cheekbones, and tender eyes that made people feel safe. Jasper ran his thumb along the outline of his mother's face.

He hated her.

He hated that he looked like her.

He hated that he wasn't good enough to be her son.

Jasper couldn't recall too much from his early childhood, but he would never be able to forget his mom and the hours they spent together. The times she took him to the lake to build sandcastles, the playground for the swirly slide, and grocery shopping for dinner. He could remember late nights where they would color until his dad would get home with a gift for the both of them.

Jasper explicitly remembered having a nightmare not long after his fourth birthday; his mother stayed by his side all night, humming a sweet today tune to help him sleep and ran her fingers through his hair.

Jasper clenched the picture frame in his fists hard enough for the glass to crack. It was the summer after his sixth birthday that she packed her bags and left. He returned home from school on the first Friday of his first grade year to his father looking defeated. All of his mother's belongings were gone.

And just like that, Jasper was motherless.

He growled at the picture in his lap, ignoring the tears that splashed at the glass. His hands trembled, irritating the open flesh of the new cuts that decorated his arms. Why did his dad even keep her picture? Tucked in the back of the closet like some lost, but not forgotten memory?

Why did Jasper cling to it? He despised this woman with every fiber of his being and yet he couldn't bring himself to stop staring at the picture. He wanted to burn it but also cherish it. She was so selfish! What had Jasper done to warrant abandonment?

The stray tears morphed into heavy sobs. "Mom...?" He rocked back on his knees, "Why did you leave me? What did I do wrong? I hate you!"

His cries heightened in volume and intensity for several minutes until his throat was sore. His ears felt like they were ringing and it was hard to breath. "Mom," he murmured, falling forward.

His face skimmed the carpet and he rolled onto his side, clutching the picture frame to his chest as he lay. He was going to burn it, he promised himself. One of these days he was going to burn it...

Jasper wasn't sure how long he was curled up on the floor before he finally pushed himself up, placed the picture frame back into the box with the top, and shoved it back into the corner of the closet. It was still dark out so not too much time should have passed. He peeked in on Clarke again as he passed her room; she was still asleep but must have woken up at some point because she was now in her bed, legs tangled in her blankets.

He was about to move on along down the hallway to his own room when her phone lit up and a shrill ding filled the room. He wondered who that could be at this time of morning.

Jasper's heart rate increased slightly, his body fully aware of what he was about to do before his brain could make the decision. Jasper had always been a bit of a snoop, but these days he preferred to act on it than wonder about theoretical possibilities.

He started off by stepping lightly on the floor, but gave up when he realized Clarke was out cold and not waking up. He picked up her phone at her nightstand and unlocked it.

The latest text message was from Harper;

5:03 a.m.

 _You're probably not awake yet but_

 _Fallout Boy has just released their new tour dates!_

 _Text me back as soon as you get this!_

Harper.

Jasper rolled his eyes. He scrolled further up to to see if anything else in the conversation was interesting, but most of it was school and club related with the occasional band talk. That wasn't worth the snooping at all.

He clicked back and opened up to Clarke's list of latest conversations. The first one was from Bellamy.

Yesterday, 10:05pm

 _Have you found her yet?_

Clarke.

Yesterday, 10:09pm

 _No. I got called into work for the last five hours so_

 _Murphy and Miller had to go out and look for her for me._

 _Miller had to stop after two to babysit his sister. Murphy stayed out until_

 _my shift ended. Currently we're playing scrabble while we wait up for her._

Bellamy.

Yesterday, 10:11pm

 _Murphy playing Scrabble sounds like a sight to behold._

 _I'm sure she's okay though Bellamy._

Clarke.

Yesterday, 10:13pm

 _I'm not worried if she's okay or not because I'm sure_

 _she is too. I'm worried if she'll even bother coming back home_

 _tonight._

Bellamy.

Yesterday, 10:14pm

 _She's just frustrated right now and it's going to pass._

 _She'll come back home._

 _Give me a call when she does okay?_

Clarke.

Yesterday, 10: 15pm

 _I will._

Bellamy.

Jasper snorted. So Octavia was missing last night?

A big part of him wanted to be happy that something bad enough had happened to where she ran away, but the tiny part of him that still loved her kept him from feeling smug about it. It was that small piece of him that hasn't been completely corrupted by self-loathing quite yet.

Clicking back to the list of people Clarke was talking to, Jasper was slightly appalled at how many unread messages his sister had. For being such a Type A, he would have thought that Clarke would have kept her inbox relatively clean. Most of them were from other senior's whose names sounded only vaguely familiar, but Jasper stopped at Raven's name.

It was unread and Jasper could see his name in the message preview.

What the hell were they talking about him for? Last Jasper had known, Raven and Clarke were sworn enemies. When did they get close enough to where they were sending messages back and forth about him?

Jasper tapped the conversation without an ounce of guilt. There was only one message dated from two days ago.

Friday, 11/13/15 2:56pm

 _Hi Clarke...listen. I know we don't really get along but_

 _It's about Jasper. I'm pretty sure it was him I saw with_

 _a girl who's known for drugs and getting arrested. I'm not a 100%_

 _sure it was him but it never hurts to at least double check._

Raven.

Jasper deleted the message almost instantly after reading it. He couldn't let Clarke find out about any of this. He already had Monty breathing down his neck and had just barely managed to convince him to keep it to himself. But if Clarke got involved, then that would mean his dad and Abby would get involved.

What if they send him to therapy? Or worse? What if Clarke and Abby abandoned him the same way his real mother and Octavia did?

No way, Jasper thought, dropping Clarke's phone back onto the nightstand and retreating out of the room to his own. He might not want Clarke in his business or interfering with his life, but it pained him to think of her leaving him behind from being disappointed in him. He'd rather die than live to see her or Abby find out all of the terrible things he'd done.

Was that selfish, he wondered, collapsing onto his bed. To hide things from the people he cared about, refuse their help, push them away, and treat them poorly only to want them to be within his reach? Was it selfish to want to die so he didn't have to face them even though he has no intention of stopping the shameful sins in the first place? Was it a sin at all?

Jasper ran his finger along a cut on his ankle, eyes heavy. It still wasn't light out.

His thoughts wandered over to Octavia and his mom. Would either of them care if one morning he just never woke up?

...

Jasper had the sensation of falling when he jerked awake.

He must have had a nightmare and flipped around in this sleep because his entire upper torso was hanging off of the bed. Recovering slightly, Jasper righted himself so that he was spread out on his stomach across his mattress, blankets strewn across his legs.

It was odd though, because the room seemed brighter than he kept it these days. He glanced at his window and sure enough, the blanket he had tacked over it was missing, allowing the morning sunlight to stream in. And next to his fishtank was Clarke.

"I was wondering if you were going to get up." She was already dressed and put together. This combined with her sentence told him he wasn't going to like where this was heading. "It's already eleven thirty."

Jasper shrugged, rolling onto his face. "I'm a growing boy. I need sleep."

"You're a growing boy who also needs sunlight, food, and social interaction. Get dressed; we're going out."

"I don't want to."

"I don't care." He could feel the mattress sink as she sat next to him. "You haven't left the house in days and I haven't seen you in days so let's go. Monty is meeting us at the theatre and we're gonna go get snacks."

"We literally just did this entire routine last night. I don't feel like it."

"I also thought we could get a new filter for your fish tank." Her hand rested on his shoulder. "Did you notice that your fish are all dead?'

"No, but I'm not surprised. "

"Jasper." This time he could hear the agitation in Clarke's voice as she stood up. "Mom says you need to get out of the house and I agree so get up. No is not an answer." She tore the blanket away from him and bundled it up into her arms, exposing him to the cold air.

"She's _your_ mom. Not mine." Jasper had meant for it to be under his breath, but Clarke's fallen look alerted him of his mess up right away.

"What?"

"I didn't say anything!" He groaned, as if he had been falsely accused. He rolled out of bed, and skimmed through his closet. "Look I'm getting ready! Now leave so I can change. God."

Clarke eyed him again before leaving him to get ready.

Forty minutes later Jasper was trailing behind Clarke in their favorite party store. He had wanted to wait out in the car, but Clarke insisted that he came inside with her. She had smiled at him, but Jasper could see the worry in her visage. She didn't trust him by himself.

Jasper broke away from Clarke while she debated over which drink to buy and he found himself alone in the candy aisle. He picked up a box of Rainbow Nerds and stared at it as if contemplation whether to buy it or not. In reality, he was checking to see if the girl with the short dark hair was running the register.

She was, but he had already known that before looking. He had figured out weeks ago that she worked Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. If Jasper was going to do any shoplifting, it would only be during her shift because he knew she wouldn't catch him. She was always either too busy helping a customer or flipping through a magazine to bother noticing him.

Jasper slipped the candy box into his pocket subtly, popped his collar, then whirled around only to run head first into Clarke. Jasper froze, his stomach swimming with nausea. Did she just see him...?

Clarke smiled radiantly, but it started to slip at her immediate recognition of his distress. "I'm ready—are you sick? Your whole face is red! Should I call mom —"

" No, I'm fine." Jasper's heart beat rapidly despite his attempts to calm down. Last the thing he needed was Abby getting involved. "I got a little dizzy for a second. I'm gonna wait in the car until you're done."

He didn't wait for her response, but instead hurried past the clerk girl who had definitely taken a notice in him now. He considered putting the candy back, but decided he didn't care if he got caught and walked right out the doors. He expected to be stopped in his tracks right away, a camera crew to jump out and expose him, and Abby screaming that he was no son of hers.

But it didn't.

"Have a nice day!" The words of the clerk registered in his head only after he had curled up in the passenger's seat of his sister's car. It came to his attention that he had never heard her voice until now.

The revelation was soon forgotten, however, as Clarke returned to the driver's side.

...

Raven had tried to pretend that this date meant nothing to her, but there was no denying the cartwheels of excitement in her stomach.

When Finn had called her up that morning asking if she wanted to grab lunch and catch up, she was tempted to hang up on him immediately. Just because she had been civil with him at the Quiz Bowl practice the day before didn't mean she was ready to forgive him and make up.

But deep down, Raven knew she had forgiven him at the same moment she made peace with Clarke. Even though their relationship would never be the same, Raven couldn't live with the thought of cutting Finn out of her life entirely— he had been her best friend since the second grade and he knew everything about her. There never were any secrets between them.

Finn had already at the café when she arrived, her favorite coffee steaming hot and waiting for her on the table in front of him. She couldn't hold back her smile at the fact he still remembered her coffee order, which really wasn't that big of a deal since it had only been a little over a month since they broke up, but it still meant a lot that he bothered to order it ahead of time.

She was afraid that the conversation would go awkwardly, but it flowed naturally as if nothing damaging had ever happened to their relationship. A few times Raven had to remind herself that she wasn't going to let herself be enamored by him, but for the most part she just enjoyed his company; it felt normal again.

"I mean, it's not the most glamorous job in the world," Finn finished his story, "but at least I'll be making twelve bucks an hour."

"Yeah. For a first job, that's a really good wage." Raven laughed, swirling the remaining coffee in her cup in a circle . "I can't believe you waited until senior year to get your first job."

Finn shrugged, his smile soft and a little embarrassed. "Finally decided I should start taking care of myself. Can't keep living off of my mom's divorce inheritance forever."

Raven chewed on her lip, wondering if his new drive was the result of Clarke's influence. She was a pretty independent person. It would make sense for Finn to become inspired by her, right? The funny thing was that Raven didn't feel even the slightest bit resentful towards Clarke about it. Monty's advice really worked.

Monty!

"Oh yeah!" She slapped her mostly empty cup on the table. "Guess what!"

Finn leaned forward, cheek resting in his palm. The sparkle in his eye assured her that he was listening intently. "You...were scouted by NASA? It's about damn time."

Raven shook her head, grinning. "Not quite, but I'm making my way there! Guess again!"

Finn puffed up his cheeks in pensive thought then deflated them with an eager sigh. "I can't top NASA. What's up?"

"I joined the robotics tournament!"

Finn's eyes nearly popped out of his head, but he was still grinning. "Without Wick? That's amazing! You're going to do so great!" He lowered his voice, as if to convey a secret. "I honestly never really liked that guy. Too demanding. I feel like every time you told me about him, it involved a fight and him being a jackass and —" he threw up his arms .

Raven shrugged, curling the corner of her lip down a bit. "He wasn't that bad, but maybe he was a little bit of a prick. We always managed to win though."

Finn rolled his eyes with a naughty laugh. "You can easily win by yourself with an arm tied behind your back and blindfolded. You're going to do great."

"Thanks." She grinned. "But I'm actually doing it with Monty — do you know him?"

"Monty?" Finn repeated, trying the name out on his tongue. "No. I don't think I know a Mon—wait." He paused, staring at his hands before looking back up at her. "You mean Clarke's friend?"

"Yeah. Her brother, Jasper's friend."

"Yeah, now that you mention it. I think I only really met him one time. How did you end up doing the robotics tournament with him? "

Raven quickly related the story of the wrench and how she ended up accidentally running into Monty again in the hardware store. She left out the part about how he gave her advice on how to finally forgive Clarke. "I started out doing it mostly for the rush of competition, but I think I'm just going to be a fill in for Jasper until he's back to his normal self."

Finn cocked his head to the side, and then nodded slowly as if realization just dawned on him. "Ah, he's still not over Octavia." Raven was about to correct him when he continued, "It must be hard on him that she's already seeing another guy."

This time Raven stopped. "What? No way."

"Clarke told me that she's seeing Lincoln."

"Lincoln? Grounder Lincoln?"

Finn nodded again. "Yeah. Apparently Clarke and Bellamy found them out yesterday after leaving the restaurant."

Raven smiled then frowned. "Well, Lincoln's a good guy so I'm not worried about Octavia, but I am worried about Jasper." She leaned forward. " Finn, I saw him with Echo. "

The color drained from Finn's face. "Oh, no. Are you sure it was him?" Raven nodded. "We need to tell Clarke—" he made a frantic move to get up, but Raven slapped her palm over his wrist to keep him from moving.

"I already told her about it so I figure she's going to take care of it," she said. "It's not really our business either, Finn."

"Not our business?" Finn repeated. The coldness of his voice made annoyance swirl in Raven's gut. "Regardless of whether we get along or not, Echo is bad news and it would be bad for Jasper to end up in the wrong crowd. We need to take action so that he doesn't —"

"Finn," she barked at him and he instantly closed his mouth. "I already took the matter into my own hands by earning Clarke of the situation. Jasper is _her_ brother, and the action needed to be taken to help him is up to _her_ and her _parents_ alone. Not you." He gave her raised eyebrows but she didn't stop. "I know you want to help—I do too. But we do not have the right to take over and made decisions because we feel it's right. You need to let Clarke and her family decided these things without your influence over her."

Finn deflated in his seat, fist pressed up against his temple. Raven was mildly concerned that he was going to lash out in her, but then he sat up and laced his fingers with hers on the table top. "You're right," he murmured, "you always are."

The words should have been satisfying, but they sounded hollow, like he was just telling her what she wanted to hear. She had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn't going to let it go so easily.

"You know," she started after they had been in silence for a time, "I think Monty might having feelings for Clarke."

Finn jerked up, clearly flabbergasted but trying to cover it up as best he could. "What makes you think that?"

"Just the way he talks about her —"

A body slammed into the top of their table, and Raven was instantly ready to duke it out with a random drunk despite the fact that it was two in the afternoon and they were in a coffee house. What she really hadn't expected was for Wells to be the one to crash into them.

"Have either of you seen Clarke?" He was out of breath and panting like he had participated in a ten kilometer run. "She isn't answering her phone and it's important."

"I haven't talked to her today," Raven answered slowly.

"Why?" Finn fixed Wells with a hard stare. "What happened?"

Wells dropped his head to the table. Finn repeated his question. "I'm," Wells picked his head back up, making Raven even more nervous.

"Out with it please!" She pressed.

"I'm moving to France in a week," he said.

Raven suddenly wished she hadn't asked.

...

The silence that fell between them was awkward. After all, Bellamy did try hunting him down the day before with the help of his friends.

That morning, after Murphy had gone home and Bellamy had given up all hope of Octavia explaining herself to him, she came out of her room with her phone clenched to her chest asking if he would have lunch with her and Lincoln.

Bellamy really wanted nothing to do with the guy, but he was a strong believer in keeping friends close and enemies closer, so he quickly agreed. His biggest concern had been getting to the restaurant and waiting longer than necessary.

What he hadn't counted on was this boyfriend of Octavia's being there just as early! Bellamy had figured they would come together! Now he was stuck at a table with this guy after exchanging the world's most uncomfortable handshake.

Bellamy wasn't sure what to say, so he mostly stayed quiet, praying Octavia would walk her ass through the door at any minute. He had lost count of how long they had stared at their waters before Lincoln finally said, "This is ridiculous."

Bellamy looked up, mildly startled. Lincoln was no longer avoiding eye contact. "Excuse me?" Bellamy asked.

"Listen, Bellamy," Lincoln folded his hands on the table top, "I really like Octavia and as her brother, I know you're not going to like me right away. I also realize running yesterday was a poor decision but she was scared about what you would say. Your opinion of her matters more to her than you think."

"I'm not sure about that," he scoffed.

"No, you got it wrong." Lincoln paused momentarily. "I'm not going to hurt Octavia, though I'm sure you have your doubts. However, I would appreciate it if you would allow me to prove it to you and to her just how much I cherish her."

Bellamy leaned forward in his seat. "Listen, Lincoln. I want to like you, trust me. You clearly make Octavia happy but... I've been watching out for her since the day she could walk. We have different dads and hers wasn't the best so my mom didn't stick with him long. And my mom works long hours, so I've been the one who made sure she got to school, had lunch money, beat up anyone who picked on her."

Lincoln chuckled. "I'm having a hard time picturing Octavia getting pushed around."

Bellamy cracked a grin. "Well, the one time a kid did try to pick on her, she knocked his lights out. No one messed with her again after that." He laughed. "But my offer to take care of them for her always stands."

"It sounds like you are real l close." Lincoln cocked his head to the side. "I don't want to take away the relationship you have with her. You're her brother and nothing is going to change that. I just want to be a part of making your bond stronger."

Bellamy had become pretty skilled at determining when a person was being insincere, and this guy was the farthest thing from insincere. From the direct contact eye contact to the lack of fidgeting, Bellamy could tell that Lincoln was being completely honest.

Bellamy swallowed, nodding slowly. "I think I can get along with you for the time being."

"And by that you mean until a potential breakup?" Lincoln's voice raised an octave and his eyes got a glimmer in them.

Bellamy chuckled, Lincoln joining in as well. Clearly the question was asked for ironic purposes and not to be taken seriously, otherwise Bellamy would have punched his lights out. "That's exactly what I mean."

"Bellamy? Lincoln?" The voice was unmistakablely Octavia's. Suddenly she was at the table with them, arm wrapped around Lincoln's bicep. Surprisingly, it only bothered Bellamy a little bit. "W-what's going on here? I said at two— why are you both here so early?"

"Cool it, O. We've had our conversation already and I— I don't mind you two being together."

Octavia's eyes widened so far Bellamy held back a laugh. "Really? Just like that?"

Bellamy held up his menu in front of his face to hide his smirk. "Alright. What do we want to eat?"

A buzz on the table had everyone glancing at their phones. "It's me," Lincoln said, looking at his screen.

Octavia touched Lincoln's shoulder. "Do you need to take it, babe?"

"No, it's just Clarke," Lincoln said. Bellamy instantly perked up at the mention of Clarke, before bringing himself back down to earth. The odds were that he was talking about a different Clark. "I can call her back later."

Bellamy nearly spewed out his water. _Her_?

Clarke wasn't a common girl's name was it?

Bellamy cleared his throat. "You don't mean Clarke Griffin by any chance?"

Lincoln's face broke out a slight smile. "Oh, yeah. I completely forgot that you guys go to the same school and probably know each other."

Octavia laughed nervously. "Oh, yeah. I kinda forgot to tell you about that big bro..."

"H-how do you know her?" Bellamy wasn't sure why he was asking, but for some reason he needed to know the answer.

"We worked in the same doctor's office for a while. She normally doesn't call me. I wonder what's up."

The vibrating ended, showing a new missed call. Bellamy had accidentally left his phone at home otherwise he would have called her himself. "Maybe you should call her back," he suggested.

Lincoln re-dialed immediately. Octavia rolled her eyes. "Can't this wait until later?" She muttered.

"Hi, Clarke?" Lincoln said into the receiver. "No, it's not a problem. Yeah, he's here. Uh, sure."

Bellamy was thrown off when Lincoln suddenly passed him his phone. "What?"

"She's been trying to reach you."

Bellamy took the phone. "Clarke? What's wrong?"

The other end was instantly filled with her stern answer.

 _"Things just suddenly got alot harder."_

 _..._

So sorry updates are super irregular. Trying to cruise through life but life aint having it right now

11/23/17


	24. Just How Fast The Night Changes

**Chapter Twenty-four: Just How Fast The Night Changes**

The fact that they decided to hold their impromptu meeting in a Burger King parking lot seemed rather fitting to Bellamy; after all, when had anything they'd ever done been considered normal? Their school was going to be torn down, half of the student council members were always missing during meetings, the Clarke-Finn-Raven soap opera, not to mention the mini superintendent being shipped to France all of a sudden. At this point, the Burger King parking lot seemed like the least weird thing that's happened in the last three months.

Bellamy flipped his water bottle in his hand, leaning against the door of his car. Everyone was circled up and looking exhausted, borderline defeated. Raven and Finn seemed like they had made up despite the sullen looks and Monty, who had settled to Bellamy's right, informed him that Jasper was in the backseat of Clarke's car across the lot.

Clarke's face looked duller and he wished there was something he could say to cheer her up. Instead, when she walked over to stand next him, he offered her a small smile which she returned briefly.

Wells sat on the back hood of his car, his legs criss-crossed and elbows pinned on his knees to support his face. "It's all my fault," he muttered.

"What else is new," Monty murmured. Bellamy withheld a laugh; if Monty hadn't been standing right next to him, Bellamy would have missed the gibe.

Finn crossed one ankle over the other, shifting himself as he leaned against Raven's car. "Just start at the beginning."

Wells gripped his hair, then sat up straight. Clasped his hands together and inhaled deeply. "Back when Clarke was ignoring me, I felt pretty dejected."

"Naturally," Finn supplied. Clarke chewed down on her lower lip, as if ashamed. Bellamy suddenly wanted to punch Wells for guilt tripping her, accidental or not.

"My cousin," Wells continued, eyes following Clarke, "and I had been in touch pretty regularly since she had been visiting us from France for the summer. So one night we were Skyping and she suggested that I apply to go to her school with her."

"So your cousin wants you to move halfway around the world to go to school with her?" Raven said. "She doesn't have a crush on you or something weird, right?"

Wells scoffed at that. "No, she does not have a crush on me. She thought..." He paused. Bellamy slipped his cold fingertips into his back pockets. "She thought it would be a good change in scenery for me. To move on and not dwell on things."

And by things, it was pretty obvious that Wells meant Clarke.

"If this was back i before school started then how did you end up staying here for the first quarter?" Monty asked.

Wells rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I told her that it sounded interesting, so later that night we introduced the idea to my dad and her parents at dinner. My dad didn't need any convincing and he emailed the school about it within the hour. But it turned out, since it's a prestigious prep school type," a collective groan followed that, everyone being reminded of Mount Weather scum, but Wells continued, "and they were already full for the school year. My dad put me on the waiting list, but we kind of thought that was the end of it. Until —"

"Someone left the school and you were next on the waiting list," Bellamy finished. "Never thought there'd be something where the only thing the superintendent could do was get on a waiting list."

Wells shot him a dirty look. Bellamy smirked. "I thought we were past this, Bellamy," Wells said.

"Oh, come on," Bellamy laughed softly, "I'm just messing with you. You're going to be leaving soon so think of it as old time's sake."

Wells rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything.

"When are you leaving?" Clarke asked. It was the first time she had spoken since they had gotten there; Bellamy had expected her voice to be soft or sad since she had been so quiet, but her tone was as firm as ever.

"My flight is Friday but my last full day in the States is Thursday."

Bellamy didn't miss the glint of satisfaction in Monty's eyes as he exhaled. He also noted Finn's gaze shift back to Clarke, the look of longing present in his eyes. Raven stopped biting her nails. "That works out!" She said. "We can have a going away party at the Thai restaurant so we can still help with the fundrai— oh my God."

Raven turned to Finn, grabbed his collar, and rattled him as she exclaimed, "Oh my God! What about the school? Wells was our connection to Jaha for the lower money, goal thing! What if he screws us over once Wells leaves?"

Finn circled Raven's wrists with his hands and detached her from his coat. Clarke crossed her arms. "Wells already filled me in; Jaha is going to keep up his end of the deal so long as we don't try to sway him into staying."

Wells opened his mouth to speak, but Raven cut him off. "You're going to France, got it?"

"I wasn't going to protest. I wouldn't do something that would jeopardize saving the school." The undertone of Wells not wanting to screw up his relationship with Clarke screamed at Bellamy to the point he wanted to cover his ears.

There was too much going on with people he didn't care for; normally he could tolerate Wells and Finn pretty well, but for some reason another moment with them right now would push him off the edge. Maybe it was the sentimental glances Wells thought he was sneaking at Clarke or Finn's gentle smile he kept flashing at her, but Bellamy wanted nothing of it.

"I'm gonna go grab a bite from inside since I didn't get to eat earlier." He started across the parking lot.

"Bellamy!" Bellamy turned at Clarke's voice to see her jogging towards him. "Hold up, I'll come with you!"

Finn shuffled a step forward, reaching out slightly before slipping his hand into his pocket. "I'll come too!"

"No," Clarke said, slowing down as she approached Bellamy, "we can take care of it. Thanks for asking."

She turned away from the group huddled in the parking lot and bowed her head to the wind as she walked faster towards the building. Bellamy picked up his pace and held the door open for her. He wasn't quite sure what he was expecting when they got inside, but he was surprised when Clarke wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him.

At first, he was a little surprised, but it only took a moment for his arms to bring her in closer to him. She smelled nice, but he wasn't able to pinpoint a specific scent. Probably some sort of herbal shampoo, but whatever it was, he liked it.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

He could feel her grip on the sides of his coat loosen and tighten due to her hands fidgeting. "Yeah, I'm just...I'm just annoyed. There's so much I'm responsible for and people don't seem to understand that I get stressed out too," she mumbled.

Bellamy massaged a reassuring circle into her back. "You don't need to sacrifice so much of yourself for everyone, Clarke."

"I wish it was that simple." She shifted and pulled away from him, leaving a cold spot on his chest where she just was. "I'm sorry." She smiled, but Bellamy could tell it was forced. "Come on, let's get you something to eat. My treat."

She turned toward the menu above the counter.

Bellamy slipped his hands into his pockets.

...

Octavia moved to block but still ended up on her back from a kick to her chest.

"Sloppy form." Indra drew her arms to her sides in a resting position. "On your feet. Again."

Octavia exhaled deeply, ignoring the shooting pain in her lower back and the pounding in the rear of her head. Either Lincoln never went full force when they used to spar, or Indra was that much more intense. Octavia rolled over onto her side, pushed herself up, and got back into position.

It was Octavia's turn on the offensive, but as soon as she advanced, Indra already had Octavia back on the ground with the wind knocked out of her. "You're not focused," Indra stated, a little short of being a hiss of disappointment. "Come back when you're ready to work."

Indra stalked off to the other side of the dojo to consult with another student. Octavia growled as she got to her feet, throwing her gloves on the floor in a huff. What was wrong with her? She felt like her mind was clear, but apparently her body disagreed. Maybe it was because it had been a long day at school? Mondays were the toughest day of the week.

Octavia snarled at herself inwardly. If she was underperforming with Indra because she was still hung up on the Trig test she failed today, then she was going to kick her own ass.

Gaia was in their usual spot on the bleachers. Two other girls sitting with her didn't look overly impressed. "Hi," Octavia said numbly when she was within earshot.

"What the hell was that, Octavia?" Octavia tried to ignore Lexa's harsh glare. "That was pathetic."

Octavia wiped her face on her her arm. The urged to scream back was barely choked down. "Thanks. That was encouraging. I already know I sucked."

"You were better than that during your first week here." Anya's voice was just as cold as Lexa's expression.

For a second, Octavia wondered how she was friends with these people. She turned to Gaia who was politely ignoring the conversation by keeping her eyes on her book. "Alright, they got theirs out. What do you want to tell me, Gaia?"

Gaia didn't bother looking away from her book, but then again Octavia hadn't really expected her too anyway. "Nothing you don't know already."

Octavia rolled her shoukders, then took a swig from a water bottle that Lexa held out to her. "I was doing so great before I was asked to do the Conclave." She rolled her shoulder again. "Maybe it's because I'm not training with Lincoln as much anymore?"

Anya uttered a soulless laugh. "No." Her eyes settled in on Octavia a little too intensely for comfort. "I recognize the anxiety and doubt in your eyes; you're intimidated by Indra."

Octavia almost spit out her water. The choking fit lasted for a few seconds and when she looked up, both Lexa and Anya were sizing her up again wordlessly. Octavia almost groaned out loud. Couldn't they just be straightforward with what they were thinking instead of all these mind games?

"I'm not afraid of Indra," she said once she had recovered.

"If you are not fearful of Indra, then you don't recognize her power." Anya pushed a braid behind her ear.

Octavia capped the water bottle. "For the record, I respect Indra and am fully aware of how powerful she is. But I shouldn't have to be afraid of her to acknowledge those things. The whole point of her training me is so that I'm on par with her strength and ability."

Anya scoffed but didn't say anything. Lexa, on the other hand, reached for her gym bag and pulled out her gloves. "Come along, Octavia."

Octavia stood up, shot a slight sneer at Anya over her shoulder, and then trotted after Lexa to the mat. It took her a second to remember she had thrown her gloves on the ground earlier, but quickly retrieved them. Once Octavia was finally facing the dojo's prodigy, she had to put on a brave face

Lexa looked dangerous; her dark hair was pulled back in a few intense braids—note to self, find out where she got them done— and her tank top and yoga pants showed off her toned body. Though she didn't look it, Lexa had a sturdy build and years of training on how to use her body to manipulate an opponent. What was the most frightening though, in Octavia's opinion, was how flawless Lexa's makeup was everyday. It was like she knew she was going to kick your ass and she was going to do it in style.

Where Octavia lacked skill, she did have weight and patience, though she expected Lexa was patient as well. Maybe if Octavia managed to keep Lexa from landing a hit, she could at least practice her foot work...

"Octavia!" Octavia met Lexa's eyes, silently wondering how long she had been calling for her. Lexa looked at ease. "Punch me."

All of the planning from a minute ago was just flown out the window. "If you insist."

Octavia threw a punch, Lexa dodged easily, and then Octavia stopped. "Come at me again," Lexa instructed, "but this time stop focusing on where you're going to hit and instead think about where you're going to block and follow up with a strike."

Octavia did as she was told, moving nimbly forward. This time, though Lexa still bested her, she was able to gain a bit more ground than before. "Oh."

Lexa glanced over at Anya and Gaia watching from the sidelines. "Anya," Lexa motioned for her, "come here, please." Anya was on the mat in record time. Octavia subconsciously wondered if Lexa was aware of Anya's crush on her. "You've seen what Octavia has been doing wrong in her defense right?" Anya nodded. "Could you simulate that in a mock spar with me?"

"Of course."

Lexa turned to Octavia. "Watch Anya's movements closely because you will notice the problem. This is what you are doing and will need to improve."

"Okay."

The two girls started their spar and Octavia zeroed in on Anya's movements straight away; in her defensive she was putting so much energy into blocking that it was leaving her blind to the next set of attacks. She needed to block with less force and conserve more energy when taking blows so her focus wasn't broken.

"Very good." Lexa kind of smiled when Octavia related her findings to them. "Anya and I will take turns working with you when Indra is unable to. She was right about you Octavia Blake — you have the spirit of a fighter."

Octavia nodded firmly. Smiling in a situation like this seemed ill mannered, at least after spending several hours with these two emotionless blackbelts. She was nervous from Anya's intense stare in her direction until she bumped into Lexa and Octavia realized that Anya's eyes were fixed on something behind her.

"We've got company," she hissed.

Lexa glared. "Azgeda. What are they doing here."

Octavia glanced in the same direction to find two girls loitering by the front door, arms crossed, whispering to each other as they pushed Dum Dum suckers between their cheeks. "Who are they?"

"Competition," Lexa said, striding forward to greet them.

Anya hung back for a moment. "Ever the diplomat. Lexa insists that we treat Azgeda like the rest of the dojos that participate in the Conclave, but we all know that they're a bunch of lying cheats. Nia is their sensei but she's just as much of a snake as the rest of them."She nodded towards the two girls that Lexa was now talking to. "Those two are Ontari and Echo— Ontari is ranked second and Echo third in their dojo divisions."

Octavia noticed how much dark eye makeup the Azgeda girls wore as well. Maybe she needed to get a new look. "Whose ranked first?"

"Roan," Anya spat. "Bastard thinks he's a fucking prince because he's the son of the owner. The only thing I will grant him is that he is a formidable opponent and is deserving of his top rank unlike many in the league."

Octavia noted how Anya's gaze shifted from the two outsiders to Lexa as she said that. "You don't mean Lexa, do you?"

The venomous snarl immediately alerted Octavia she messed up. "Of course not! Lexa is the best and deserves every win she has." Her eyes narrowed. "It was you that I was referring too."

Anya started toward the benches, but Octavia grabbed her by the shoulder and whipped her around. "Listen, bitch, I may not be on the same level as you or Lexa or Indra or even those Azgeda assholes but you're my teammate and you shouldn't be shitting on me. And you better be ready for the near future where I kick your ass without breaking a sweat."

Anya smiled for the first time Octavia had known her. "Bring it, sweetie."

Octavia tilted her head and smiled back coldly. "Don't worry. Lexa will be screaming for me before she ever screams for you."

...

"When are you gonna take care of me again?"

Jasper zipped up his pants. "Next time I feel like it, okay? We both agreed to keep it professional so don't get clingy on me."

A shiver shot down through his body at the touch of her fingertip along the end of his spine. "I know," she hummed, pressing her lips along the nape of his neck. He could feel her naked upper half against his back. "You're just exceptionally talented, especially for a high schooler." She snaked her arms around his bare midsection, her teeth nipping at his ear. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to persuade you to go another round?"

Jasper sighed loudly, not even bothering to disguise the slight disgust in his voice. "Not today, but I might hit you up tomorrow if I fail that physics quiz the way I'm expecting too."

She rolled over onto her flat back, exposing her breasts to the room. A lighthearted smile was in her face. "I still get a rush every time you bring up that you're a minor." She giggled again. "I wish there were more bad boys when I was in high school."

Jasper pulled his shirt over his head. "Wanting more people to be like me means that you want more broken people. That's fucking disgusting."

Her round eyes widened. "Jasper, that's not what —"

" —yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll call you. " He slammed the door behind him without waiting for an answer.

The cool air blasted him in the face right away. The wind was strong with a few snow flurries, making it feel more like November. He propped his collar as he walked down the steps and away from the Motel 8.

His sexual escapades hadn't started out intentional, much like the prescription drugs that made his head pound and the scars that stained his body. It had been a week earlier when Jasper met up with Echo for their reoccurring transaction of weed dealing, but this time Echo had brought one of her friends. She was a petite blonde with a decent rack and nice smile. Apparently she was a college drop-out who was looking for a fuck buddy with no strings attached and Echo had thought of him.

At first Jasper was ready to turn her down, but the girl asked him to give her five minutes. He agreed after Echo said she'd toss in a few extra joints on the house, and then he got into the backseat with the drop-out. The way her mouth moved with his, hands in his hair, spit and adrenaline firing him up made his heart race. He didn't stop her when she pulled his belt loose and moved lower and lower...

The feeling of a person against his body made him warm in more ways than one; not only did it make his cold skin burn with warmth, but it also filled the gaping hole left behind in his chest. At least, that's what he thought. Later that same night, he snuck out of the house and waited down the street for her to pick him up.

She could barely restrain herself on the drive to her apartment, but they really broke loose once they were inside. She had shed her clothes faster than he had thought humanly possible, but he hadn't complained. Jasper liked the way her body moved with his as he carried her up the stairs, her tongue in his mouth and hands in every inappropriate place possible.

Jasper lost his virgnity that night without thinking twice about it.

It wasn't until hours later when he was laying in bed with a stranger's naked body cuddled beside him did he think about it. He was a seventeen year old junior who still wouldn't graduate for two years. He doubted Clarke had ever gone this far with someone and it scared him that he was breaking grounds that his sister couldn't inform him about it necessary.

But worse than that, he felt nothing as he lay there.

The emptiness that he had hoped to fill with physical pleasure was just as empty as before, if not worse, and everything seemed more hopeless than before. He was in bed with a sex addict college drop-out whose name he couldn't remember all because a blowjob earlier in the day made him think sex was the key to feeling again?

Jasper rubbed his hands together as he walked down a street that would eventually get him home. After that first night, he had considered calling it off but there was no denying the pleasure he got during the act. Even if it didn't fill the emptiness, at least it served as a temporary distraction from the pain.

They quickly developed a system where they would meet up in the motel instead of her apartment since it was closer to his house and school than her apartment was and he couldn't risk being seen in her car with him. For the last week and a half, he would tell his family that he was taking a detour through the park for fresh air on the way home but would instead meet up with the girl for a quickie after school.

Speaking of which, he was out of condoms now. He needed to pick some up on the way home. Jasper crossed the street instead of continuing straight, headed straight for the liquor store he frequently shop lifted at. It was about time he bought something again to keep them off the trail, so he slapped a bag of chips, a Cola, and his condoms on the counter.

The girl behind the counter, Maya he had learned at some point along the way, raised her eyebrow as he pulled out a twenty. "Actually paying today, then?" She asked as she entered the items in the computer.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" He snarled.

Maya wrinkled her nose, slamming his things into a bag and taking the twenty. "Don't act like that. I know you shoplift, I know you shoplift only during my shifts, and I know you've been doing it for a while." She handed him his change back, but held onto the bag. "We have cameras, who do you think you're fooling?"

Jasper tried to ignore her piercing dark eyes. "Just give me my damn bag."

"I've been erasing tapes and taking a chunk out of my paycheck to cover the things you take so you don't get in least you could do is be grateful that I haven't turned you in yet."

"Thank you," he managed through grit teeth. "Could I have my bag? I won't come back."

Maya held the bag out as if to give it to him, then pulled it out of reach again. How was there no one around to see this? "My shift ends in fifteen minutes," she said. "Why don't you wait up for a few and we can go grab something to eat and talk."

Jasper snatched the bag out of her hands. "Why would I want to do that?"

He ignored her protest as he pushed the chiming doors open. The wind was sharp against his face, but leaning against the building window helped mask it a little bit. He fished around for his chip bag and popped it open.

Maybe he'd be dead from hypothermia by the time her shift ended.

...

Bellamy hadn't expected a big crowd on Thursday, but he was pleasantly surprised by the large turn out.

The Thai place was almost completely maxed out with families and groups of students from all high school levels; he did note that there were far more juniors and seniors than the freshman and sophomore classes, but that was to be expected.

He had to work until ten minutes ago, so he was the last to show up. He knew that somewhere amidst the chaos Lincoln and Octavia were bunkered down with some girls from the dojo. Bellamy wasn't overly interested in checking in on her since he wanted to reestablish trust between them, so he let them be.

Instead he figured he would eventually find the table Clarke reserved for Stu-Co if he walked long enough. Sure enough, in a large booth in the far corner was the entirety of student council with the add-ons of Monty and an unfamiliar girl.

"Bellamy! You made it!" Miller was packed in the right center of the booth with little wiggle room. "Move over, Harper. Make room for Bellamy."

Harper dropped her jaw, giving him an annoyed look. "Do you see anywhere for me to scooch?'

Monty sat up straighter. "You can scoot this way," he said, sliding slightly closer to Clarke to make room for Harper. Raven shot a pointed look at Finn who paled.

Bellamy held up his hands in a T. "Forget it, guys. I'll sit on the end." He slipped into the booth beside Clarke who was laughing. "I feel like I'm working with toddlers."

She laughed again, and Bellamy had to do a double take at how attractive she was when she laughed. "I'm glad you could make it," she said over all of the chatter. "Octavia got here not too long ago and told us you were working. Her new look is really cool."

Bellamy blinked, a confused smile replacing the genuine one. "New look?"

"Braids? Eyeliner?" She stopped when she realized he had no idea what she was talking about. "It must be really new then. I guess you'll see it when you get home."

"Bellamy!" Sterling called over the chatter. He was sitting next to the unfamiliar girl. Honestly, Bellamy had forgot that Sterling and Fox were still part of student council. "This is Wells's cousin!"

"Oh yeah?" Bellamy faked interest. Clarke turned away but he could hear her laughing again. "I'm Bellamy."

"Charlotte," she smiled back in a heavy French accent. Her auburn hair was tied back in braids. Also, not to be rude, Bellamy noted how she and Wells looked nothing alike. In fact, she was pale. He must have let his confusion show because she smiled kindly again. "My mother was Wells's mum's sister. My father is French, and I took more after his looks, oui?"

Bellamy nodded politely. One thing was solved. "Where is Wells?"

"I'm here!" Wells appeared out of seemingly nowhere. "I was just in the little boy's room." He looked at Bellamy and his expression darkened. Bellamy got an inkling suspicion that he was in Wells's spot.

Bellamy was about to give it to him for once as a final peace gesture, but Clarke said, "Wells, you can sit here. Bellamy and I were just going to go outside for some fresh air."

Wells's expression darkened further. Bellamy had to look away to genuinely keep himself from snickering out loud. "I'll come out with you," he offered.

Monty jumped in right away like a champ. "But you just got back Wells!"

Raven stashed a smirk. "Yeah, Wells," she said with a straight face, "don't abandon your cousin like this."

"But—"

"I want air too." Finn tried to get up, but Miller elbowed him and made him sit down.

"But you were just about to tell Charlotte that story." He stressed.

The utter tension went over Charlotte's oblivious head. "Yes, I'd love it if you would stay."

Wells and Finn were trapped. Clarke pushed Bellamy slightly. "We'll be right back!" She called over her shoulder.

Once they were outside in the cold, Bellamy had to question the relevance of this adventue. "You're freezing." He gestured to Clarke's leggings and stylish sweater and the overall complete lack of a coat.

"I just needed to get out of there for a bit." She hugged her arms around herself.

Bellamy shrugged his coat off and draped it over her shoulders. "First the One Direction blanket and now my coat? I think you're making me lower my defenses, Princess."

Clarke laughed shallowly, tightening the jacket around herself. "Thanks. You can have it back if you're cold."

"I want you to hold onto it until we head back inside."

Clarke nodded, gripping the edges again. He knew he probably shouldn't watch her while she admired the sky, because who does that?, but he couldn't help himself. "Its weird that you and Wells will be seeing the same stars from different parts of the world starting tomorrow, huh?"

"Yeah."

Bellamy went to stick his hands in his pockets when he remembered he didn't have his coat. "Gonna miss him pretty bad, huh?"

Clarke shifted, then caught his gaze. The light of the restaurant reflected off of her hair and suddenly he was reminded of the night so many weeks ago when he picked her up in the parking lot after her date with Finn. Only something was different this time. He wondered if she felt it too, or if it was just him.

"I was thinking about that," she said, and Bellamy had to recollect the former conversation, "because even though we went through a rough patch, Wells was there for me for a long time. It would be weird for him to not be around any more. But then it struck me."

"What's that?"

"I'm not going to miss him nearly as much as I would miss you if you were leaving."

...

Guess who got inspired? More new chapters soon to come!

This doesn't need warnings does it?

12/8/17


	25. Sweep You Off Your Feet

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Sweep You Off Your Feet**

Bellamy knew he didn't have to hide.

After all, this was a public school open to the public for a public event. He had no reason to feel uneasy enough to hide in order to not get caught. Except that this school was Mount Weather Prep and just the smell was nauseating. How much worse and humiliating it would be if they got caught by someone who went here!

Today marked the first day of Quiz Bowl tournaments and it just so happened that Mount Weather was kicking it off this season against the Plains View Riders, which Octavia had filled him in on being a participant in the Conclave that Octavia would be fighting in come springtime.

Clarke had been a little anxious on how high they were going to have to step up their game in order to even come close to being a challenge against Mount Weather. In the few days that lead up to Mount Weather's first competition, Bellamy wore her down until she agreed to sneak in on them to watch. They had spent almost every waking moment with each other since Wells left so it hadn't been too hard to convince her.

The half hearted disguises were a little much, but Bellamy had to admit that it was fun. Clarke had a scarf looped around her head like a hood covering her curls and wire glasses at the edge of her nose. Bellamy sported thick rimmed glasses, a sweater vest, and khakis.

The hope was to look more like rich parents than middle class teenagers in order to dispel any suspicions of the other parents milling about. Unfortunately, it backfired.

Apparently the rich liked to point out the new guys, and started harping on him and Clarke in over friendly tones: "Which kid is yours?" "You both look so young! What's your secret?" "How long have you been married?" "Oh, dearie, he looks like a keeper." "Better hold onto that one, son, otherwise I might try to get a hold of her! Hah!"

Clarke had thought quick and told them that they had forgotten to bring flowers for their son (after noting that the other parents had all brought something for their kids) and that they would be out and back in a snap. She grabbed Bellamy's hand and dragged him outside to his car where they say in silence for a few seconds before erupting into laughter.

They had sat in the car, the heat blasting, for close to twenty minutes before sneaking their way back into the auditorium where they now sat in the very back. The last thing they needed was for someone to recognize them after that fiasco.

"I can't believe how hard it was to get into a public school." Clarke was hyperventilating slightly from their mad sprint across the cold parking lot. She pulled back her hood, the top of her head poking through. "God, I hate these people."

Bellamy snorted in agreement. "Can't argue with that one."

Cage was up first against a Riders' girl. He had a twisted smile on his face; the same ugly smirk he had when he sent Clarke running out of the restaurant a few weeks ago. Bellamy wanted to punch him in the nose.

The mediator pushed his glasses into place. Bellamy wondered if he was a teacher at Mount Weather because even he carried himself with a pompous air. "The first question," he said, "What chemical element gives the blood of a lobster it's bluish tint?"

"Copper," Bellamy responded reflexively under his breath. Clarke nudged him with an impressed smile.

Cage slapped his buzzer calmly, the opponent clearly stumped already. "Copper."

"Correct," the mediator said. Bellamy rolled his eyes. "One point for Mount Weather."

Emerson was up next, this time against a boy with a thick neck. "Next question: in what country did cheddar cheese originate?"

"England, duh," Clarke murmured.

The boy slapped the buzzer. "Wales."

"Incorrect," the mediator said.

Emerson took the steal. "England."

Clarke shook her head in disappointment. "Can you believe he got that one wrong?"

Bellamy shrugged. "Who would know where cheddar cheese originates?"

Clarke shoved him softly with her shoulder. "Who would know what metal makes lobster blood blue?"

Bellamy smirked at her through the dim light of the auditorium. "Guess our Quiz Bowl practices have been more helpful than we thought."

The rest of the tournament went on like that; questions were asked, many of them being answered by Clarke and himself before anyone on stage could. Mount Weather wiped the floor with the Riders, but that had been expected. At some point, Clarke had rested her head on Bellamy's shoulder and fell asleep.

The lights started to brighten as people started to get up and filter out. Bellamy shifted slightly so he could see her face. He couldn't remember a time when he'd ever seen Clarke so vulnerable and at peace. A thought of them watching a movie like this at his house crossed his mind, and then he immediately shook it out of his head.

Why would a weird thought like that invade him? It's not like he liked her.

The movement of a figure walking off the stage caught his attention. Bellamy recognized it as Cage right away. Cage glanced in their direction and for a second, Bellamy was sure that they had made eye contact.

They needed to get out of there.

Bellamy shook Clarke's shoulder, stirring her slightly but not enough to wake her up. "Clarke," he said, " we have to go. "

Clarke sat up on her own, but was still dazed. "It's over?"

"Yes." Bellamy glanced up. Cage was already moving in their direction. "Alright, time to go, princess."

In one swoop, Bellamy swept her into his arms and made a break for the exit from the auditorium. The sea of people made it a little tricky, but Bellamy shoved himself through the crowd without any worry for repercussions. These people were stuck up pricks and it wasn't like he had to worry about seeing these ever again anyway.

"Bellamy?" Clarke was fully conscious now.

"Good to see you're finally awake." He reached the door and pushed it open with his back. The nip of the freezing air and snow pierced his face right away. Clarke rolled her face into his chest to avoid the wind. "I think we're safe now—"

"Griffin? Blake?"

Bellamy whirled around at the voice. Emerson was standing in a group of people in the shadows of the school. How did he get out here so fast? Bellamy wanted to slap himself in the face. He should have ran for the car without stopping.

Emerson stepped out into the light pouring from the building windows. "So you too are rolling together now, or something?"

Bellamy instantly helped Clarke back to her feet. "No," she answered, pulling her scarf so that the curls were free. "We were just—"

Emerson laughed, waving them off. The doors swung open, and Cage stepped out wearing the same supercillious grin from before. Bellamy scolded himself again for not bolting across the parking lot when he had the chance. "Clarke!" Cage smiled vehemently. "I was expecting to see you here."

Clarke opened her mouth to protest but Cage cut her off. "Don't worry about defending yourself, Clarke Griffin. It's only natural to check out the competition when you know you don't stand a chance unless you get some sort of leg up."

Clarke scoffed, but Bellamy easily picked up on the mild anxiety that she was successfully trying to put away. "I'll admit, we did come down here to see what we'd be up against," she said coolly. "And even though you guys were good, I think you're the ones who should be worried about going up against West Arke."

Cage chuckled, bumping slightly into Emerson who also had a smirk. "Isn't that cute, Emerson?" Cage taunted, "They think that they're garbage hole of a school is worth being frightened of! Clarke, I thought you were smarter than this."

Bellamy stepped in front of Clarke, a growl escaping from the depths of his throat. The familiar feeling of wanting to fight bubbled to the surface. "Don't talk about us as if you're so high and mighty! Especially don't talk to Clarke that way." Bellamy's fist tremored at his side. He was getting ready to hit him, and not just hit, but inflict the worst kind of pain. There was only one other time when he felt this intense amount of hatred— when his mom's ex-boyfriend tried coming back to her years after walking out on them, shortly before Octavia had been born.

Clarke must have sensed that he was about to snap, because she circled herself around his upper arm and jerked him backward roughly. "Stop, Bellamy. They're not worth the trouble."

Bellamy instinctively flashed a look of anger toward Clarke for stopping him, but she maintained her grip on his arm as she pleaded with him. Her expression was still firm and strict, but Bellamy picked up on the slight tremble of her lower lip and the helplessness in her eyes. To any onlooker, she would have looked fearless.

But Bellamy knew that she was worried. She was nervous that he was going to initiate something that would get him hurt.

The adrenaline that had flowed through his veins a moment before eased away, though the aggression lingered. His fist relaxed, and he rested it reassuringly over Clarke's hands that were still firmly holding onto his arm.

Emerson and Cage were grinning like demons. "We're going to destroy this competition, and you with it," Bellamy snapped.

"Ah, Bellamy," Cage said with mock sincerity, "We're all friends here, yeah?" Bellamy had a few choice words for that comment. "No need to get violent. Trash talking is just the spirit of competition! And," he reached into his pocket, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and held it out to Clarke, "To show it's all in good fun and for no hard feelings, we'd like to invite you to our party this Saturday."

Clarke accepted the paper cautiously. "You want us to be at your party?" She turned the piece of paper over in her hands, as if examining it for an chance of foul play. All it had was an address scrawled in ugly handwriting.

Cage shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged almost casually. "Of course. Both of you could easily be elite members of Mount Weather had you have chosen to do so. You're our kind, and I wouldn't dream of being prejudiced against our kind."

Clarke folded the paper and moved to give it back. "We don't want —"

Bellamy snagged the paper out of her hands and tucked it into his coat pocket. "We'll think about." He twirled Clarke around and walked her down to his car without allowing another word to be said between any of them.

"What was that?" She demanded. Bellamy opened her door and closed it after her. "Bellamy!" She asked again once he had slid into the driver's seat.

"Getting us out of there." Now that most of the crowd was gone, he was able to exit the parking lot quickly. "If they're giving us an in, we take the in. Friends close, enemies closer?"

Clarke crossed her arms, sinking into the seat. The glasses she had been wearing were pushed up on her head like a headband, keeping her hair out of her face and her cheeks were bright red from the cold. "I'd much rather keep these enemies an arms distance away."

Bellamy chuckled. "You an' me both."

They drove in comfortable silence for a few minutes. He was a little surprised that Clarke hadn't turned on the radio, but he didn't mind. For some reason, he had come to enjoy the soft sound of her breathing when they drove together, which seemed to be a lot these days. It had started off when Clarke's car was in the shop after Jasper trashed it, but even in the weeks after it had been repaired, she never went back to it. She always asked him to pick her up or drop her off...

Bellamy shook his head and refocused on the otherwise empty road. He risked one last glance at Clarke, noting that she was using her scarf as a blanket. "Are you cold?" he asked without thinking.

Clarke shifted slightly, her eyelids heavy but straining to stay open. "Nah, I'm okay. I know you don't like the car too warm."

Bellamy reached over, turned up the heat, and directed all of the vents toward the passenger's seat. "You don't need to my permission to be comfortable, got that? I'm fine."

Clarke narrowed her eyes at him, and he laughed softly. It was another fifteen minutes before he pulled into her driveway, but she was already out cold despite it being only ten o 'clock. He vaguely wondered if she was coming down with something.

"Clarke." Her rustled her shoulder. "Clarke, we're at your house."

She stirred slightly, making groaning sounds as she stretched. Bellamy rolled his eyes. Either she was ignoring him or she was a heavier sleeper than he thought.

He leaned back in his seat and blew out an exasperated breath. "You've got to be kidding me. Two times in one day? Don't get used to this, Princess."

She was pretty easy to lift out of the car and the walkway up to the front door was shoveled and there weren't any ice patches which took a tremendous amount of worry off his shoulders. Abby and Marcus must have seen him pull up at some point because they were standing with the door open once he reached the porch.

"Thank you for bringing her home, Bellamy." Abby smiled, but in an exhausted way.

Marcus curled his fingers, gesturing for Bellamy to come closer. "I'll take her," he said. Bellamy slipped Clarke into her stepdad's arms, careful as not to wake her. Her glasses were gone now; he'd have to find them in his car and return them to her.

Marcus disappeared upstairs, probably to take her up to her room. He hadn't even known he had been staring so long until he returned his eyes to Abby. She was smiling. Bellamy coughed, suddenly embarrassed.

"Well, I'm just going to be on my way—"

" —Would you like any some coffee or anything, Bellamy?" she asked.

"Oh, no. I'm fine, Mrs. Kane but thank you for the offer."

"Are you sure? We've got leftover cookies and lasagna from earlier."

"I'd hate to impose."

"You're not, dear." Her eyes twinkled, and suddenly Bellamy finally noticed the resemblance between Clarke and her mother. "Please. If not for yourself, at least for your sister and mother."

Welp, she got him there. How was he doing to say no to that? Not to mention, he wasn't sure if his mom would have eaten anything during the day and the least he could do is leave something out for her. At least now he could count on Lincoln to take take care of Octavia.

He ran a hand through his curls. "Okay, then."

Abby led him into the kitchen, which was about the size of the living room back at his apartment. The last time he had been in this house was the day after homecoming. "How was the tournament?" She pulled a nearly full pan of lasagna out of the freezer.

"Not bad," he said, purposefully leaving out the confrontation. "It was mostly confirming our suspicions. They're really good."

Abby slapped half of the lasagna onto a platter. "I was afraid of that, but I'm sure you'll pull through. You're a reliable bunch. Plus, I heard that Raven is is a part of your team and she's a smart girl."

Bellamy perked up slightly. "You know Raven?"

Abby laughed. "She goes to the same gym as I do." She wrapped up the plate with shrink wrap to keep it from making a mess. "Here you go, sweetie."

Bellamy accepted the plate, surprised by how heavy it was. "Thank you, again."

She smiled, eyes twinkling dimly. "Any time."

It was even colder outside now than it was when they had left the school. Bellamy put the plate in the passenger's seat of his car, but was surprised when he saw a dull shimmer on the floor. He reached over and picked up Clarke's glasses from her disguise.

He debated about running them inside real quick, but instead set them on his dashboard.

He kind of liked them there.

...

Not quite sure if I like this chapter but I'm already posting a hell of a lot later than I wanted to, so here it is!

I promise I have a lot of inspiration and ideas for chapters its just a matter of finding time...pray that I find time ㈳7

Hope you had happy holidays and good luck this exam season!

1/20/18


	26. Count On You

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Count On You**

"Okay, open your eyes."

Jasper obliged, opening his eyes once her hands were removed from his face. He was standing directly in front of a painting that he couldn't quite interpret; it could have been candles against a dark room or it could have been souls of the condemned trying to escape from hell.

The second one seemed more poetic to him.

Maya smiled nervously off to the side. "So," she picked at her nail, "what's your verdict?"

Jasper ran his hand through his freshly trimmed curls—she had somehow convinced him to finally take care of his ill maintained mop of hair. "It's not bad," he admitted after a moment. For some reason, he felt compelled to run his fingertips along the canvas.

Maya visibly beamed, and then covered it up with her palm as she turned away. When she faced him again, her smile was more controlled. "It seemed to fit you better than most of the other mosaics in here."

Jasper crossed his arms, nodding slightly. This was only the second time that they had gone to the art institution, but he found a lot more solace in the quiet halls than he cared to admit. The building was huge, fostering numerous types of art pieces ranging from sculptures to portraits to abstracts. Aside from Maya, there were rarely any other people in the same room with him at a time.

Six days ago, he had made the decision to wait for some dumb girl to finish her shift at the liquor store he frequently shoplifted at. His intentions had mostly been to shut her down once and for all, to let it be known that he wasn't some project to fix or whatever bullshit she might have been thinking. He hadn't expected to meet her again, nor had he dare thought their meetings would turn into something that he looked forward too.

Maya patted his arm gently, but when he looked down at her, she was focused on the painting again. "This one is my favorite too; it's showing a darker side of the world. I mean, it's nice to focus on the color, but sometimes you need to acknowledge the darkness in order to heal it."

Jasper knew that it was a therapeutic tactic and he refused to give in. "Sometimes healing is out of the question." He pulled his arm out of her grasp and retreated to a bench setting in the center of the room.

"What's your favorite painting we've seen so far, Jasper?" Maya's voice was patient and sweet.

Jasper swallowed, avoiding her eyes. He didn't like how nice Maya was to him because it was going to make everything harder when he betrayed her. But instead of blowing up, he murmured, "There was one with some birds in it that wasn't terrible."

Maya slid onto the bench beside him. "Listen, Jasper," Maya picked at her fingernails again, a habit that Jasper had quickly learned about her, "there's something I've been thinking about."

Well, here it was—the moment he had been anticipating from the beginning. Maya was officially put up with his cynical attitude and poor behavior and was leaving him on his own, just like his own family did. And it took only what? A week? He deserved a medal for how quickly he was capable of chasing people out of his life.

Jasper rolled his shoulders, turning his back to her slightly as they sat. Suddenly he wished he hadn't cut his hair so he could use the long locks to screen his face from her view.

"It's about Thanksgiving, Jasper." Maya's hand curled around his shoulder, startling him slightly. Those...were not the words he had been bracing himself for. "It's tomorrow and I just want to know what your plans were for that?"

Jasper tensed, still slightly shook from the switch of conversation topic. In fact, he wished that she had dropped him from her life. Anything to keep him from having an uncomfortable discussion about Thanksgiving and what he was going to do on a day like that.

"Stay home, probably," he finally said.

Maya's nose scrunched into a small frown. "That's not what I mean per se…"

"Oh," Jasper's voice turned harsh. "You want to know whether I'll be in the dining room with my family, right? If— if I'm going to sit with my dad, and step-sister, and step-mom and hold a pleasant conversation about school or sports or—or— or God forbid what we're thankful for!?"

Jasper noticed how he was nearly looming over Maya as he spoke, but surprisingly enough she hadn't squirmed back in fear or shock. For some reason, that just made him more angry and Jasper jumped to his feet with a snarl.

"What the fuck does someone like me have to be thankful for, huh?" He gripped at his hair, tugging at the roots until it felt like his scalp was peeling away from his skull. "I'm just a fucked up kid, alright? My own mother didn't want me, the girl of my dreams left me out to dry, the people I'm closest too have condemned me, nothing makes me happy anymore!"

Anger swelled in Jasper's stomach—he couldn't think straight. Memories of cuts and blood and sex and sleepless nights rushed back to him. Had this really been his reality for the past few weeks? It seemed like these were the only things he knew, as if the late night video game sessions with Clarke and Monty in the dim glow of Christmas lights was a figment of imagination.

Perhaps that's all it really was? Maybe the good times he could barely recall were just dreams that he had used to escape his reality. At this point, Jasper couldn't even recall how it felt to be happy, or even content. If he couldn't remember that feeling then who's to say that it ever really happened.

A soft hand on his back brought Jasper back; he was on the floor with his arms over his head, almost as if he was shielding himself. "Jasper," Maya's voice was soft.

Jasper sat up in a snap, eyes fiery and bloodshot as he glared at her. "Why are you with me?" he demanded through a tight throat. He hated how perfect she looked. "Why would you— _a top student from a prestigious fucking school who could have_ any _guy she wants_ —risk being caught with a deadbeat like me?"

He tried not to cry; Jasper hated crying, especially in front of people. He wished he didn't come with her, wished he never waited for her that day, wished he picked a different store to shoplift at, wished he didn't allow her to have so much power over him.

Jasper was just a project to her—some poor soul whose life she could better just by being there, so that the next time she saw one of her socialite friends, she can impress them with how kind and generous she was. Jasper recognized the act. The only problem was that his feelings for her were different.

The world was cruel, setting him up for another disaster. Maya was literally the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, more so than Octavia, but it didn't mean anything because at the end of the day he was nothing to her, right?

Maya pulled her hand away from the small of his back where she had been rubbing soothing circles into his back. Jasper tried pressing himself further into the marble floor when two hands scooped up his face, forcing him to look Maya in the eyes.

"Listen," she said, "you clearly have some demons you're working through and I don't like watching you suffer. I want to help you, but you need to be in want of my help for it to work."

Jasper's cheeks felt itchy from the muffled sobs and his head throbbed from his shouting. "What if I don't want help? Then what?" he snapped. "Are you just going to leave me too? Like the rest of them did?"

"That's my point, Jasper!" Maya released his face from her hands and his head dropped. Jasper shifted again so that he was sitting straight up. "You keep saying that everyone left you, but from what I can see, you're just shutting them all out! Monty calls you four times a day, all of which you ignore! It's only one word answers for Clarke if you bother to answer her calls." Jasper shrugged, avoiding eye contact. "You say that your parents aren't paying attention to you, but have you thought that maybe they are afraid to lose you altogether if they continue to nag at you?"

Jasper remained silent, but out of the corner of his eye he spotted a security guard approaching slowly with a hand on his belt. Well that was spectacular. If they got caught having a spat, they probably wouldn't be allowed back in again and this was the only place Jasper was able to think.

Surging forward, Jasper caressed Maya's cheek with the back of his hand before he kissed her. It was a risk, but also he didn't care. His world was falling down around him anyway so what was one more thing to add to the burning pile of regrets?

At first she stiffened, breath hitched, and Jasper was pretty sure that he could feel Maya raising her arm to slap him when she leaned into him, kissing him back. It was a short kiss, but Jasper wasn't going to complain. It set his innards on fire and made his hands tremble.

Maya placed her hands on his wrists, pulling his hands away from her cheeks. Her face seemed to glow but her eyes betrayed her discomfort. At least the security guard had walked on without stopping to give them a hard time. "I ruined everything again, didn't I?" he whispered.

Maya pinched her lower lip between her teeth. "What was that for?"

"I wasn't ready to get banned from the museum. I'm not allowed in a lot of places these days and I'm not going to let this place be one of them." Jasper leaned further away, once again wishing his hair was long enough to hide his face. "I think I'm going to go."

Jasper pushed himself up and crossed the hall. He was trying to keep his mind blank as he walked, but it seemed like every time he managed to clear his head, the warmth of her mouth on his would creep back into his memory.

"Jasper!"

Jasper increased his walking speed. He had hoped that she wouldn't follow him despite having a hunch that she would anyway. "Leave me alone, Maya."

Maya's body slammed into him from behind, arms looping around his middle. He tried to keep walking, but she planted her feet in the ground which made it far too difficult to drag her. "You're scared and I get that!" She tightened her arms around him. "But you're _not_ getting rid of me that easily so stop pushing me away too!"

Jasper exhaled deeply, unsure of what to do. He felt guilty for liking the feeling of her arms wrapped around him and he disliked the idea of letting her into the private bubble he had created for himself the last few weeks.

Though he had little interest in helping himself, he did feel better when Maya was around and he had a feeling she knew it too. Maybe that kiss had meant nothing to her right now, but give it some time and perhaps it would mean more to her too.

Small goals, he told himself. Small goals.

…

"Alright, does everyone have their name-tags?"

Clarke pivoted on the balls of her feet, double checking that everyone on the team had a slip of paper pinned to their shirt. Apparently last year a team was disqualified for a member missing a name-tag and Clarke wasn't going to allow a stupid slip up like that be the cause of their downfall.

"I believe so, but mine looks a little bit different, princess."

Clarke inhaled deeply to keep herself calm before facing Murphy. "What's wrong with it?"

Murphy shrugged, an exaggerated frown on his lips. His fingers were fidgeting with the safety pin holding the slip of paper to his shirt. "Everyone else's are all typed up and fancy," he gestured to Sterling's name-tag beside him, "while mine's just a fast scribble. Doesn't make me feel very part of the team~"

"Now's not the time, Murphy," Finn said, stepping forward.

Murphy sniffed, a small grin playing on his lips. "Not the time? I'm just having a little fun, Collins! Let's remember that without _me_ , you wouldn't even be able to participate tonight."

Well, Clarke couldn't deny that he did have a point there. With the gaping hole in the team that Wells left when he moved, it had been very possible that West Arke wouldn't have been allowed to participate in the competition since they were down a member. Originally Clarke had wanted Emori, but for her own personal reasons Emori wasn't keen on the idea of being a part of the team.

In the end, Bellamy and Miller were somehow able to convince Murphy to fill in as a replacement until they found someone to permanently fill in for Wells. All things considering, Clarke was very grateful that Murphy had been willing to help out and she supposed she could try being a bit less harsh towards him.

"It's okay, Finn." Clarke reached her arm out and separated the two boys, hoping to dispel the tension. Finn didn't look too happy that she was defending Murphy. "Murphy is just being Murphy. Leave him be." She turned to Murphy and attempted a smile even though she was afraid her anxiety was still showing. "Thank you for doing this, Murphy. I'm sure there's a million other things you'd rather be doing with your time right now."

Murphy grinned lazily, then cast a side eyed glare in Finn's direction. "Thanks, princess. At least _one_ of you appreciates my sacrifice."

Murphy turned back around to consult with Miller and Monroe about something or other. Clarke shifted her weight between her feet as she turned around. "Alright," she said it to the group, but only Raven and Finn were paying attention at this point, "so I only have Bellamy's name-tag left, so does that mean everyone else has theirs?"

Raven did a quick scan as she slowly raised her hand to her forehead, then did a mock salute. "Aye aye. It looks like everyone has them."

"Where _is_ Bellamy?" Clarke noted Finn's eyes staring down at the last name-tag in her hands. "I haven't seen him yet and the competition starts in thirty minutes," he said.

Clarke smoothed out the wrinkles in the paper with her thumbs. She was not going to let herself be stressed. If she was stressed, she'd make a mistake. A mistake meant losing the school. "I'm sure he'll be here on time."

Raven must have sensed her anxiousness because she gave Clarke's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I'll go give him a call. Finn, go check the boys bathroom."

Finn hesitated in his movements making Clarke wonder if he was going to hang back to ask her something, but Raven looped her arm with him and dragged him along with her. "We'll find him, Clarke," she promised.

Clarke grinned, but it was only half hearted. Out of all the times Bellamy could get tied up, why did it have to be today? They were already playing with a replacement and it would be really hard to find someone to take Bellamy's place for the night if he ended up not being able to make it.

She slipped her phone out of her pocket hoping to see a missed text or call from Bellamy, but there was nothing there. Clarke pursed her lips, and then dialed Octavia.

" _Hello?_ " Octavia's voice on the other end greeted. " _Clarke? What's up?"_

Octavia's tone was enough to know that she wasn't going to know anything about her brother's whereabouts. Still, Clarke figured she might as well give it a shot. "Hey, Octavia, do you know where your brother is?"

" _Bell? He should be with you, right? Isn't tonight your guys' big Quiz Bowl thing against the Reapers?"_

Clarke chewed down on the corner of her lip. "That would be correct. Except, he's not here and we only have twenty minutes before we go up there."

Octavia's end of the phone went quiet for a second. " _No,"_ she said after a while, " _I can't think of anything that would be holding him up. Have you tried calling him?"_

"I tried earlier but he didn't answer. Raven is trying to call him now."

" _I'll send him a text, but I doubt that there's more that I could do that you haven't tried. Maybe he's stuck in traffic?"_

"Doubtful, but not impossible. Alright, I'll let you go now."

" _Could you let me know when he shows up? Just so I know he go there?"_

"Of course."

" _Thanks, Clarke. Good luck to you guys."_

"Thanks, Octavia."

Clarke ended the call, but she felt more stressed than before. Octavia not knowing the whereabouts of Bellamy was almost worse than him just not showing up. Usually Octavia had the best tabs on everyone.

She traced the letters on Bellamy's name-tag; maybe if she called right now, Monty would be able to fill in at the last minute if it came down to it. As far as she knew, he wasn't busy tonight so hopefully he would make it in time.

Clarke scrolled through her contacts list when an incoming call from Raven popped up on her screen. She answered without hesitating.

"Raven? Did you get through to him?"

" _Yes! He'll be here in a few minutes!"_

Clarke released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "That's a relief. What was the hold up? Why didn't he call us?"

Clarke could practically hear Raven's smile on the other end of the phone. " _It's a surprise_ — _a good surprise. Trust me. Wait for him at the entrance while Finn and I get everyone else ready in the auditorium, okay?"_

For the first time in an hour, Clarke could feel her heart rate lower to that of healthy speeds. "Thank you, Raven."

" _Not a problem. See you soon."_

The beep signaled that Raven had hung up, so Clarke pocketed her phone. "Alright, guys," she turned towards her remaining teammates, "Bellamy is almost here so I'm going to wait for him. You guys head down to the auditorium. Raven and Finn will help you guys get situated."

"I hope he talks you off the ledge, Clarke," Miller teased. "He seems to be the only one that can."

"Let's move." Murphy grasped Miller by the shoulder and directed him down the hall.

Watching them all disappear down the hallway helped keep her distracted while she waited for Bellamy, but the moment they were out of sight Clarke felt her body tense again. There was only seven minutes before it started.

When the door opened, Clarke nearly jumped out of her skin. It was about time!

Bellamy hurried through the door. His curls were a mess and dumb smile was on his face. "Sorry I'm late. I ran into someone who needed a ride."

"You _what_?" Clarke was ready to kick his ass off of the team and take their chances with a random audience member. "Now's not the time for your stupid displays of rebellion! We have a comp—"

There was no way she would have thought to brace herself for the moment her dad walked in the door behind Bellamy. He looked the same as she remembered him, except he was rocking a new California tan. "Dad?" she whispered.

Her dad smiled, opening his arms wide. "How've you been, squirt?"

Clarke ran into his arms, hugging him tight. It had been months since the last time she had seen her dad and everything about him seemed so far away already. "H-how are you here? When?"

Dad pulled back, ruffling her hair slightly. "I couldn't miss Thanksgiving with you and Jasper. I thought your mom would be able to get me from the airport, but she was in surgery all afternoon. Luckily, Marcus was able to give me this young fella's phone number." He clapped Bellamy on the back. "He was pretty confident that Mr. Blake here would be willing to lend a hand."

Clarke laughed, using the edges of her hands to wipe away the brief tears that had managed to escape. "How many days are you staying, Dad?"

"Until Sunday." He ruffled her hair again. "How long until the—"

"—oh my God!" Clarke's eyes widened. "Bellamy, we have four minutes! We have to run!" She turned to her dad again. "The auditorium is straight down the hall. Mom and Marcus should be there already! I'll see you when we're done?"

"You'd better!" He roared with laughter. "I didn't fly six hours to _not_ see you, squirt! Now go make me proud."

Clarke hugged her dad again, sighing into his chest. "I'm so happy you're here, dad."

"Me too. Now don't be late!"

Clarke smiled, giving a nod to Bellamy that she was ready to go. "Two minutes, princess," he said once they were out of earshot. "We'll have just enough time to slide into our seats."

And despite the frantic outbursts of their friends as they arrived in the knick of time, Clarke and Bellamy did keep their promise of not being late.

…

Bellamy smiled as he perched his elbows on the counter of the bar.

After they had wiped the floor with the Reapers, which everyone had expected, Jake had insisted on taking the whole team out to dinner to celebrate. In a small town like their's, a lot of places closed down after the dinner rush which left them with minimal options at eleven at night, but everyone had been easily convinced with Jake's suggestion of Pike's Grill.

It was a small little cabin like restaurant closer to that of a pizzeria than a grill, but there was a Dance Dance Revolution game in one corner and a bar with the latest sports scores on a pair of mounted TV's so it had it's appeal for everyone.

Most of the team had gone home after finishing up pizza, but some of them had elected to stay just as Bellamy had. Raven was killing it in the Dance Dance Revolution game while Murphy quietly judged her from the side. He knew that Raven had only stuck around this late because of Finn since he was her ride home, but he was eagerly sitting with Clarke and her dad amidst their conversation.

Bellamy though?

He wasn't a hundred percent sure why he had decided to stay even though his eyelids felt like lead and his neck ached from the long drive to the airport and back. But he had to admit that it was nice to have Jake around again, even if it was for a little while.

Even though Clarke and Bellamy had been on the wrong foot since middle school, Bellamy had always admired Jake Griffin; he had been Bellamy's sixth and seventh grade baseball coach and had been the one who initially introduced the love for Greek mythology to Bellamy in the first place.

Sure, Octavian was cool but the Greeks? No contest.

It was also nice to see Clarke so happy. He hadn't seen her smile so genuinely for a while.

"Can I get you another soda?" Bellamy turned around in his seat. Pike was drying off a glass behind the bar, a towel over his shoulder. Bellamy wondered how often Pike actually made alcoholic drinks considering this place was usually overrun with teenagers.

Bellamy tried to remember how many Cherry Cokes he'd had at this point, but the fact that he couldn't recall if it was his sixth or seventh told him that it was time to stop. "That's alright, man. I think I've just drank my bodyweight in caffeine."

Pike chuckled. He set the glass he was drying down and leaned his torso over the counter. "It's kinda nice seeing Jake around again. It's been a while."

"Almost eight months," he supplied. His throat did feel dry though. "Hey, Pike, can I get a water?"

Pike reached down and pulled a water bottle out of a small fridge below the counter. "Where you working at these days, Blake?"

Bellamy wiped his mouth after downing half his bottle. "I work in a doctor's office four days a week doing filing and stuff and I wait tables at Ruby's on Friday and Saturday nights."

Pike frowned a little, picking at his cuticles. "You ever think about coming and working for me?"

Bellamy felt a little taken back by the question, because he honestly hadn't ever considered it. "Can't say that I have but mostly because I figured you had to be twenty-one to work in a bar."

Pike laughed again, this time throwing his towel onto the top of the counter. "As long as you don't go pinching any alcohol," he lowered his voice, "or at they very least, don't get _caught_ doing it," his voice raised in volume again, "then you would be perfectly within the law working here!"

Bellamy had to admit, it did sound tempting; Pike was known to give a very generous salary to the people he liked and for some reason Bellamy had happened to fall on the desirable side of the fence for once. But then there was the fact that Pike wouldn't tolerate anyone from the Grounders's part of the town into his restaurant. No one really knew the story, but everyone did know that Pike hated those kids with a passion. That would create a sore spot considering that these days his sister was dating a Grounder.

"I'll get back to you on that one," he finally decided. Pike nodded slowly, making Bellamy a bit uncomfortable. "I'm gonna go hang out with my friends now but we'll be in touch."

Pike looked like he wanted to ask him something, but Bellamy slipped off his stool and hurried away before any more words could be exchanged. Raven had abandoned the game and was slumped over the table with her head in her arms. Finn and Jake were still talking animatedly while Clarke was in the bathroom. Murphy was nowhere to be found.

Bellamy shot Murphy a quick text to see where he was at as he loomed over the table behind Raven.

"Bellamy!" Jake welcomed. "Where'd you run off to, kiddo?"

Bellamy smiled slightly at the nickname. "I was just sitting up at the bar talking to Pike a little bit." His eyes shifted to the nearly passed out Raven. "I think it's about time I head out, though. It was great seeing you again, Jake."

"I hope to see you again before I leave." Jake rose from his spot and and the two men shook hands across the table. "Thanks again for the ride today. It was a big help."

"No need to thank me." Bellamy shook Raven's shoulder gently and she stirred, lifting her head cautiously. "Come on. I'm gonna take you home."

Finn's head snapped in their direction, suddenly paying attention again. "I was going to drive her home."

Bellamy withheld an eyeroll. "She's falling asleep, man. And she lives closer to me anyway. I'll make sure she gets home safe."

Finn regarded him dubiously before his eyes softened. "I'll carry her out to your car."

Bellamy waited patiently while Finn collected Raven into his arms. Finn led the way out of the restaurant, making sure to not bump Raven's head on the door frames as they went. Bellamy was halfway down the steps when Clarke stepped out the door after him.

"Hey, Bellamy!" Her voice was tired, but her smile was soft. "Thank you. For everything you did today."

A smile played out in the corner of his mouth. If he hadn't been so tired, he was sure that it would have been a full smile, dimples and everything. "I barely did anything, Princess. It was all you."

A cross between a laugh and scoff escaped her lips. "You know what I mean, Bellamy."

"Of course I do." He shot her a playful wink and Clarke rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Get some sleep Clarke."

"You too." She looped her arm around one of the wood beams that held up the overhang. Bellamy was about to high tail it to his car when she said, "Monty and I are planning a Thanksgiving thing for Friday and I was thinking that...maybe you and Octavia would wanna come?"

It had come to the point where Bellamy wasn't surprised that Clarke would invite him to things like this anymore. It had been established enough to him a while ago that they were friends now, but it never ceased to make him excited whenever she suggested they do something together.

"Do I need to bring anything?"

"Can I get back to you on that tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Bellamy laughed again. "Go tell your old man that you're ready for bed. You need some sleep. I'll call you in the morning sometime."

"Okay."

Clarke waved a few seconds before abandoning the freezing porch of the restaurant for the cozy indoors. Finn had already situated Raven in the front seat with the blanket from the back tucked around her. It suddenly occurred to him that he wasn't sure if he exactly remembered which house was hers. At least he'd be able to get her to the right neighborhood.

"Thanks again." Finn was leaning with his elbows over the door.

Bellamy shooed him a little bit. "People need to stop thanking me. Now run back inside. I can't believe that you're stupid enough to not wear a coat in this weather."

Finn closed Bellamy's door for him and did as told. At least he could follow simple instructions.

...

 _posting this during commercial breaks haha! this season is already great!_

 _more chapters will be up withing the next few weeks! stay tuned!_

 _4/24/18_


	27. Damning Evidence

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Damning Evidence**

"Clarke, will you get the door?"

Clarke glanced over at her mother who was currently pulling the turkey out of the oven. Clarke stepped back from the sink where she was finishing the potatoes and wiped her hands on her apron. "Yeah, I got it."

"Am I early?" Her dad asked when she opened the door. He had a bottle of wine in one hand.

Clarke grinned. "Right on time, as usual."

Jake raised his eyebrows. "Do you think your mom will be surprised?"

Clarke smiled, motioning for him to some inside. "Definitely. I haven't mentioned anything to her. She doesn't have a clue."

Her father ruffled her hair with his free hand as he strode inside. "Always on top of things, aren't ya squirt?" He came to halt in the hallway to observe the living room. Something about his expression made him look sad. "It looks the same as when I left…"

Clarke swallowed, coming up alongside him. "Daddy?"

The moment passed and suddenly her dad was smiling again. "It's nothing squirt. Just some good nostalgia that you can't get in California is all." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Let's go see your mom."

"Who was at the door Cla—" Mom froze when her eyes landed on her ex-husband, mouth agape with a small smile. "Jake?"

Dad held up his bottle of wine with a sneaky grin. "What did the grape say when he was crushed? Nothing, he just let out a little _wine_!"

Mom rolled her eyes, stepping forward and taking the wine from his hands. "Your humor is still as terrible as I remember it," she grinned despite herself.

Dad shrugged, leaning his elbows on a tiny portion of the kitchen island that wasn't covered in Thanksgiving platters. "You say that as if I've been gone for years, exploring foreign countrysides."

Mom slipped the wine bottle into a stand that Marcus had gotten her for their anniversary a few years ago. Clarke's smile withered slightly. "It feels like it, though," Mom muttered, turning back to her preparations, "I wish you were still close by." She cleared her throat, wringing her hands before moving Clarke aside to take over the potatoes. "Why don't you grab your brother, Clarke? Marcus will be home soon and then we'll start dinner."

"Sure. I'll be right back!"

It felt really nice to have her parents in the same room again. When they had first gotten the divorce, Clarke had been pretty sure that it was going to be the end of the world—she thought that her dad was going to move away and never see her again or that her mom would keep her from seeing him, but the dynamic hadn't changed much other than her dad moving into a new house a few streets over.

Clarke had always wondered why her parents had gotten a divorce when they were clearly best friends without any type of disharmony between them, but she had let it go after Marcus and Jasper entered the picture. For as angry as she was with her mom at the time, Marcus and Jasper really were Clarke's family and she would hate not having them around.

She knocked twice on Jasper's door, but there was no answer. "Jasper?" She knocked again, this time cracking the door open enough to stick her head into his room. The curtains were skewed, his bed was a mess, and his fish-tank was overgrown by an algae forest. The only light was the dim glow of his Christmas lights, but even those were half burned out, leaving the room in only a portion of the brightness it should have been.

Fortunately, it looked like he had sorted his fresh laundry and made a pile near the door for his dirty clothes.

Where would he be? Clarke didn't remember him saying anything about going out, and even if he had, there was no way her mom would let him walk out on Thanksgiving.

Clarke backtracked down the upstairs hallway toward the bathroom and sure enough, the door was closed and locked. She knocked. "Jasper?"

A louder clutter and surprised grunt came from the other side. "What?"

Clarke pressed her forehead to the door, frowning slightly. "Are you okay? What was that sound?"

"What sound?"

His voice was a bit panicky, almost guilty. He was hiding something. "Are you sure," she pressed, "it made a loud sound."

"I SAID THERE WASN'T A SOUND." The door flew open and Jasper stormed out with a big hood covering his face.

Clarke side-stepped out of his way, allowing him to storm back to his room without the risk of him bulldozing her. "Jasper, what's wrong?" She jogged after him down the hallway but he slammed the door in her face right as she reached him. "At least come down for dinner, Jasper."

"I'm not hungry." His muffled response.

The more Jasper had an attitude with her, which was often these days, the less patience she had when dealing with him. "We worked really hard on that meal, Jasper. You better come eat it." The silence on the other side of the door made her want to throw something. "If not for me," she raised her voice this time, the frustration finally getting to her, "at least go down to see my dad! He's been excited to see you!"

Quiet.

Then the knob rattled and Clarke lifted her head from the door just before Jasper heaved it open. He shot her nasty glare through the slit in his hood that just barely left his eyes visible, then shouldered past her down the hall and stairs.

Standing there in the hallway, Clarke breathed out a slow and sad exhale. She wondered exactly what was wrong with her brother and why he was refusing to get better. Even worse, she wondered just how much of it was her fault for not recognizing his pain sooner. At this point, she wasn't sure how to help, if helping him was even possible.

Her hazel eyes shifted to the bathroom again.

What had been Jasper doing in there?

Seeing as how she had her own personal bathroom as a part of her room, Clarke rarely ever went into the hallway one since it was reserved as Jasper's. The last time Clarke remembered going into Jasper's bathroom was the night before Homecoming all those weeks ago…

Clarke slid her fingers into the back pockets of her jeans, probably making her look more suspicious, before sliding into the bathroom and locking the door behind her.

She wasn't really sure what she was looking for, which made things about ten times harder. Something that would make a lot of noise if dropped? Clarke ducked down and started rummaging through the cabinet under the sink but came up empty. Something that would make a lot of noise if dropped but also something Jasper didn't want her to know about…

About a hundred different thoughts ran through her mind, all of which she scrapped right away. She had to hurry though.

Nothing was in the shower other than shampoo and conditioner. Ooh. How dangerous.

"You're just being paranoid, Clarke," she muttered to herself.

"Clarke?"

Her mother's voice made Clarke jump, accidently knocking over a pack of razors on the floor. "Ahh—yeah?"

"Are you alright? What was that?"

Clarke suddenly reveled in a sense of déjà vu which kind of made her want to kick herself. Jasper had probably just knocked the razors off the counter when she scared him, just like she just did. "I just accidentally dropped Jasper's razors," she called, crouching down to push the razors back into their packaging.

"When you're done, come on down. Marcus got home so we're going to be starting dinner."

"Yeah, don't worry I'll—" Clarke's eyebrows furrowed together as she twirled one of the razors in her fingers. The head was crushed and it was missing it's blade. That certainly wasn't common. She set it to her side and dumped the razors she had already returned to the package back on the floor. It was a pack of eight, and out of those eight, three of them were crushed with missing blades. "—be out in a second."

There was no point in finishing the sentence since it was clear her mother had left, but in the few moments she found the sketchy razor blades it felt like her body had been put on pause and it was just now picking up in the last spot it remembered.

Clarke pushed the razors aside and crawled toward the garbage can beside the toilet and peered inside. She wasn't sure what she was looking for until the word _blood_ crossed her mind, making chills go down her spine.

To her relief, there was no blood in the garbage. Just an empty deodorant stick and Snickers wrapper.

Clarke fell back on her heels, a rush of relief flooding her. There was no way Jasper would hurt himself. Sure, he was going through a rough patch, but he wouldn't go to such as extreme would he? Surely he would have come to her if it was something so bad as that.

The daunting recollection of her family waiting on her for dinner broke Clarke out of her stupor and she quickly rearranged the razors back into the package just as she had found them. Maybe she should talk to Bellamy and Harper about it tomorrow...

"That sure took a while, kiddo," her dad laughed when she finally slipped into her seat at the table. Clarke ignored the annoyed frown her mother was giving her.

"Sorry," Clarke said quickly. "I was sick for a few minutes. I'm better now."

Just as she was hoping, the subject was dropped almost instantly aside from her dad and Marcus inquiring if she was sure she was fine and if she was feeling well enough to eat at the table.

"I'm fine." She put her glass to her lips to stifle further questions.

But as Marcus said grace, Clarke couldn't help but look over the table at Jasper and wonder if things were ever going to be fine again.

...

Clarke had never hosted a Friendsgiving before; they were usually held at Harper's house but since her house was in the middle of being remodeled, Clarke had taken it upon herself to offer up her basement for the good of the group.

After Thanksgiving dinner with her family the night before, Clarke's dad had helped her move extra tables and chairs into the basement from the garage and set them up. Now that she had a use for it, Clarke was finally thankful that Marcus had decided to redo the basement. The kitchen unit was a God send and she had a feeling that the pool table and dart board were going to be big hits with the guys.

"How are we doing on time?" Harper poked her head out from around the corner wall that led to the basement bathroom. She had come early with sweet potatoes and helped with last minute clean up.

The clock on the wall read half past five which meant people would be showing up in about half an hour. "Pretty good. I think we'll have just enough time to get dressed."

Harper grinned, pushing her long hair over her shoulder. "Excellent. Shall we?"

Clarke nodded, and the two of them headed up to Clarke's room where they changed into Thanksgiving clothes; Harper in black leggings, an orange sweater, and beige knee-high socks. Clarke opted for her new sweater dress, brown leggings, and brown fuzzy socks. Cute, yet comfortable.

While Harper was curling the ends of her hair, Clarke risked a few glances at her. She really wanted to talk to someone about the discovery she made in Jasper's bathroom the previous night, but she wasn't sure that it was such a good idea.

"Clarke?" Clarke had spaced and hadn't noticed Harper trying to get her attention. "It looks like you want to ask me something," Harper said.

Clarke forced a smile. Good job, she told herself. Clarke knew she was a lousy liar. "It's nothing. I'll talk to you about it later."

Harper's lips folded into a thin crease. "Okay," she said, "but if there's something bothering you, you can always tell me." She reached out her hand and Clarke took it with a smile.

A light knock had them both at attention. A second later Monty's head was poking inside the room. "Good, you're both clothed. That could have been disastrous."

Clarke laughed, pushing herself up. "My mom let you in?"

"That she did." He stepped into the room. "She was on her way out with your dad and Marcus."

"Yeah, they're going out for the night so we can have the house to ourselves. I guess we better head down though. The others will be here soon."

"Wait." Monty gestured to his blue button down. "Aren't you going to compliment me on my new shirt?"

"Very nice, Monty." Harper adjusted his collar, gave his shoulder two pats, and walked out the door.

Clarke didn't miss the half grin on his face. "When are you going to say something to her?"

The smile was suddenly wiped and his eyes settled on her urgently. "You haven't said anything to her have you?"

"Of course not." Clarke rolled her eyes. "But you really should. Who knows what could happen."

"Why? Did you hear something?"

"What? No. I'm just saying." She bopped him on the nose good naturedly and went to move around him, but Monty rested a hand on her forearm to stop her. "What's wrong, Monty?"

It took a moment for Monty to shift his eyes from his socks to her face again. "Is—" He paused. "Is Jasper going to be coming down too?"

The air deflated from her chest in defeat. Monty deserved to know about her findings, but something like that would crush him and make him blame himself—she couldn't do that to him. "I told him he should join us," she said, and that was the truth, " _if_ he feels up to it. I can't guarantee that he will."

Monty gave two short nods and hung his head. Clarke looped her hand around his bicep and whispered, "Escort me?" which triggered an exasperated sigh.

"Shall we?"

Raven and Finn were standing at the door with Harper when Clarke and Monty descended the staircase. It wasn't a surprise since those two were rarely without each other these days, but Clarke was a bit nervous about the dynamic. She didn't want Raven getting hurt again.

"You guys dress up nice," Monty commented.

"Same could be said about you guys," Raven responded.

The outward look of admiration on Finn's face made Clarke a little uncomfortable. "You look stunning," he said, his voice a little breathy.

Clarke clapped her hands together, forcing a laugh. "Not really, but thanks! Harper," she turned to her friend who was holding Finn and Raven's coats, "let's put those away for them real quick and Monty can show them to the basement!"

A twinkle in Monty's eyes reassured her. "Yeah, sure. Come on, you two. I bet I'll wipe the floor with you guys in darts."

"You're on," Raven said, but her eyes lingered on Finn for an extra moment. When he didn't move, she shoved him slightly to get him to follow Monty.

Clarke ducked out of the foyer and into the kitchen, Harper close at her heels. "Should I text Raven?" she muttered, leaning with her elbows against the counter and her fingers steepled against her forehead. "I don't want her to think that something is up with me and Finn."

Harper dumped the jackets that were in her arms onto the window seat bed. "I don't think you should worry about it. Raven doesn't blame you and it's her choice to keep hanging around with Finn despite knowing how he feels."

Clarke sighed into her palms. "Yeah, I know. It worries me though."

"Do you still have feelings for him?"

The question caught Clarke off guard. "No! Of course not!"

Harper tilted her chin down slightly. "Are you sure? Not even a little bit?"

Clarke hesitated. The horrible side of her had enjoyed it when he called her stunning and when he went out of his way for her. "Maybe I have a few feelings for him still, but not enough to make me want to work things out with him. Especially not now that Raven and I are on good terms."

Harper shrugged, pursing her lips to one side. "I really don't know how to help."

Clarke laughed bitterly. "That's okay. I just needed to vent."

"No worries. I think I'm going to head downstairs though. I kind of want to watch them play darts."

"Yeah, of course!" Clarke righted herself and smoothed out her clothes. "Go on. I'm gonna wait until the others get here."

"Are you sure you don't wanna come down for a bit?"

Clarke thought about Finn again and shook her head. "No, it's really okay. I'll be down shortly."

After Harper left, it wasn't too long of a wait before Miller showed up with mashed potatoes. Murphy and Emori were next, bearing the gifts of green bean casserole and a bottle of wine.

"I'm still not sure why I was invited," Murphy muttered when he passed Clarke his coat.

Clarke folded it over her arm, a playful smile on her face. "Consider it a _thank you_ for helping us out of a tight spot the other night."

Finally, Octavia and Lincoln made their way inside by 6 o'clock. Octavia was barely recognizable with her braided hair and heavy eye make-up. It was different, but it suited her perfectly. She looked alot more mature than she did at the beginning of the school year just a few months ago.

"Sorry we're late, Clarke," she said, shimmying out of her Timberlands.

"Don't be sorry." Clarke tried not to be too obvious about her curiosity as she gave hugs to both Lincoln and Octavia. "Where's Bellamy?"

Octavia's eyebrows shot up briefly, but Clarke still noticed. "He's on his way. He got hung up at the doctor's office he works at. We were going to wait for him but he said to go without him."

Clarke nodded, wondering how long she was going to have to wait. She really wanted to talk to him about what she found in the bathroom. She blinked, realizing she had temporarily zoned out. "Oh, uh, everyone's in the basement. They're having a darts tournament I think."

"Darts?" Octavia whipped around to Lincoln. "You would be great at that."

Lincoln laughed, subconsciously playing with his hands. "Maybe. I've never tried."

"Go on down, guys. I'll be down when Bellamy gets here."

Octavia and Lincoln shared a look that made Clarke a little annoyed, but she didn't say anything about it. People seemed to have been reading into her and Bellamy's friendship a little too much these days because the implications of romantic interest were starting to tire her. She didn't like him that way and never would.

He was just a good friend that she knew she could trust.

Clarke settled on the base step and put her face in her hands. She wondered if Murphy had opened that bottle of wine yet. She kind of wanted some. It was a relief that her parents were out of the house for night. As long as they were able to get rid of the bottle by the end of the night, everything would be fine.

The knock broke her from her stupor. She hadn't noticed that she was dozing off, but it hardly mattered because she was yanking the door open the instant she was awake enough to stand properly. Bellamy looked nice; he was wearing black jeans, a red Marvel hoodie, and his hair seemed extra curly.

Bellamy must have noticed her eyes because he said, "I know I'm kind of underdressed but I tried showering and getting ready as fast as possible, hence this mess." He cocked his head to either side, making his hair bounce and Clarke laughed. On the contrary—she liked how comfortable he looked. "Hopefully these make up for it?"

He held up a bag in either hand, both of which contained an assortment of pies and other pastry like deserts. "Did you raid a bakery?" she joked while she rifled through one of the bags. She nodded her head towards the inside of the house, beckoning him inside.

Bellamy obliged, closing the door behind him. "Perhaps. But that's a secret for me to know and you to wonder about." Clarke rolled her eyes, setting the bag down on the kitchen counter. Bellamy followed suit. "Where is everyone? Don't tell me I'm the first one here?"

"They're downstairs. I wanted to wait for you."

"Really now?" Bellamy grinned playfully, nudging her with his elbow slightly. "What am I in trouble for?"

Clarke chewed on the inside of her cheek. Was it a bad idea to tell him after all? What if he was no help whatsoever? Still, it would feel alot better if she could just get it off of her chest…

"Bellamy," she grabbed his forearm just below the elbow, her eyebrows furrowed together. Her voice was less confident than she meant.

Bellamy's impish expression dimmed significantly. "Clarke," his voice was deep and soft, softer than she had ever heard him before, "what's wrong?"

Clarke's fingers painfully curled around the fabric of his sweater. "I—I need to show you something. I might be overreacting, but if I'm not—"

Bellamy rested his free hand on Clarke's shoulder reassuringly. "Show me."

Clarke took him upstairs, paused hesitantly outside of the door to ensure Jasper wasn't in there, and then led them both inside the bathroom. She closed the door with a silent click before turning on the lights.

"I was in here yesterday," she said quietly, but something was already wrong. The razor package wasn't on the counter like they had been the day before. "And I found a package of razors, except some of them were smashed and missing the blades from them."

She crouched down to rifle through the cabinets under the sink but there was nothing there. "I know they were here."

"You think that Jasper might be…" Bellamy left the sentence hanging in the air.

"I'm not sure." Clarke pushed herself up from the floor. "I hope he hasn't been hurting himself but he's been so distant lately, I'm afraid it might be true."

The fact that they were suddenly gone without a trace worried Clarke. Bellamy leaned his back up against the wall, his facial features scrunched up in thought. "Maybe he needed them for a project of some kind? Needed the blades to cut something, like that manila paper stuff."

"Jasper has never done projects, _and even if he had_ in the past, there's no way he's done something along those lines in the last few weeks."

Bellamy bit down on his fist, eyes lowered to the ground for a few thoughtful seconds. "I think that this is just circumstantial evidence at this point." Clarke opened her mouth to protest but Bellamy cut her off. "I think it's about time we keep a closer eye on him. If he has suspicious behavior outside of being anti-social, then we need to intervene. I do think you should tell your mom about this though."

The thought sent a shiver through her body. "No, I can't do that. Not right now when we don't for sure. That's why I came to you."

Bellamy folded his arms. "Clarke, you have to. I'm sure she knows how to handle something like this better than you or I do."

A stray tear rolled down Clarke's cheek which she quickly rubbed away. "I just don't want her to bombard him and making him worse if he is doing that bad. I want to fix it but I don't know how."

"Clarke." Bellamy grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her into his chest, encircling her in a warm embrace. She hugged him around his middle, bunching up his sweatshirt into her fists as she pressed her face into his chest. Her legs trembled in anger and sadness.

Even though she felt like crying, she couldn't—the tears just wouldn't flow. Did that make her a bad person? Was she failing Jasper? The more she thought about it, the more she felt like everyone around her just tended to suffer. She really was the worst.

But still, the tears wouldn't come so she held onto to Bellamy while he held her close. Every so often his hand would move up her back reassuringly, before resuming its place in the niche of her back.

Clarke had no motivation to move until the terrifyingly close door slam followed by a muffled curse filtered through the closed bathroom. Bellamy's head shot up from where it had been lightly perched on top of her's. "Jasper's coming."

Clarke shook her head lifelessly. "He can't find us. He can't know that I've been snooping."

The footsteps were louder. They had six seconds at best. "Turn off the light," Bellamy said, pulling back the shower curtain and setting one foot in the tub, "and get in the bathtub."

Clarke almost wanted to protest, but there was no time. There wasn't a closet and they couldn't both hide under the sink. This was their best chance. She clawed at the light switch, forcing it off, and then vaulted over the side of the tub. She hoped he hadn't seen the light through the bottom crack of the doorway.

Bellamy had just enough time to pull the shower curtain closed just as the door flew open and light once again flooded the room. Clarke's legs were tangled with Bellamy's, her shoulder were tucked into his side, and her tailbone was painfully crushed against the side of the tub but she didn't dare move. Bellamy looked just as uncomfortable, if not more given his height, but he stayed perfectly still as well.

The toilet seat crashed against the tank, making a loud noise. Clarke closed her eyes and pressed her face into Bellamy's chest when it was made clear that Jasper was peeing. That was the _last_ thing she wanted to be involved with.

Please leave already, she thought. For some reason he was hanging back even after he had washed his hands. His shadow wasn't very prominent from this side of the shower curtain and it wasn't like she could ask Bellamy for his take on it.

"Hello?" Jasper's sudden words startled her. Had they been found out? She stilled her breathing even more. "Yeah, I was thinking of maybe taking your advice."

Advice? What?

Clarke moved ever so slightly so she could look at Bellamy in the face. _Phone call,_ he mouthed.

"Everyone's downstairs already," Jasper was saying. "No, not today….Little progress at a time….I'd prefer it if you were here….I know….I'll probably talk to Monty….I could care less about her at this point. She's moved on….You remember! I still can't stand Finn….Yeah, I'm not sure….Alright, I'll let you go. Bye."

There was a drawn out sigh after the call ended, and then the the sink was running. It lasted for a few seconds before stopping, then lights were turned off, and the door finally closed again. Clarke sat up almost instantly and Bellamy did likewise. It couldn't have been more than five minutes, but the cramped positioning in the tub did a toll on the back.

"Who was he talking to?" Bellamy asked. It sounded like he was climbing out, but she couldn't tell in the dark.

"I'm not sure. His side of the conversation was pretty vague," she replied. The lights flickered back on and Clarke could see again. "What was the running water for?"

Bellamy peered over the sink, looking for anything deemed suspicious. "Maybe he washed his face? There's nothing here that suggests otherwise."

Clarke pressed her hand onto the counter and leaned into it. "We should go back down to the party. People are going to wonder what's up."

"Octavia has already texted me a few times. When we get down there, we'll tell them that you've been waiting for me this whole time and I just got here, okay? Let's keep this between ourselves right now, but I really do think we need to talk to somebody."

Clarke sighed. "I promise to talk to share my concerns with my mom, but I can't tell her about the razors until I know for sure." She searched Bellamy's face for some kind of reassurance, but his expression was like a statues. "You think I'm making a bad decision."

"I can't say I fully agree with it."

She pursed her lips to the side. "Come on. We have a dinner to join."

...

bellarke fluff! and angst! and some poor decisions.

4/29/18


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